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Is your headache a pain in the neck?
I expect many of us suffer headaches in the heat with dehydration being an obvious culprit. The body is working really hard to cool down when it's hot and cortisol, the stress hormone, is coursing through our veins with the physical challenges and mental load of trying to still do what's needed or re-arranging commitments. Sleep is massively disrupted which has a ricochet effect for hormonal balance and blood sugar regulation.
I spent a day in bed on Wednesday with a migraine and I thought I'd share what helps me most at such times. Lack of sleep, pain in my neck and hormonal drops are definitely the main triggers.
#1 - ice pack to the back of the neck. Cooling down the occipital ridge (the bony protrusions at the base of the skull) is always my first resort. Cold therapy to this part of the head eases the throbbing by constricting the blood vessels and soothing inflammation in the surrounding muscles. Reducing inflammation in the body slows the signals to the occipital nerves and to the Trigeminal nerve which is main pathway for migraine pain. The Trigeminal nerve starts in the brainstem and wraps itself around the head and face which is why you can get pain in your jaw, teeth, ears alongside the throbbing head.
#2 Kool n Soothe gel pads. I get a drilling pain above my right eyeball but find it too painful to ice here so these pads are brilliant for gentle, sustained relief. They are adhesive so you don't have to be lying down to use them and they last for 8 hours. Once I'm able to get up again I often leave it on even though it looks ridiculous!
#3 Peppermint essential oil. I always have a bottle of this in my pocket if I can feel a headache brewing. Gently inhaling (aka sniffing) aromatherapy oils is the fasted way for them to take effect in the body. Peppermint oil contains menthol which is cooling and pain blocking to the sensory nerves and desensitises trigeminal nerve endings. Menthol is a decongestant so it opens up the nasal passages so promotes better oxygen flow too. I've had so many positive experiences with peppermint oil I feel like it has a stress relieving effect just opening the bottle! It's also brilliant for easing nausea so I never travel without it.
#4 Arnica cryo gel. I have several tubes of Weleda's cryo gel open so that there's always one within reach - on my desk, in my bed, in the fridge and in the car!). Applying this is an instant hit of cooling gel, menthol punch and soothing massage all in one. It's brilliant for any muscles aches too and saved my sanity when hip pain was waking me several times a night.
# 5 Sumatriptan nasal spray. Medication to reduce the swelling in the blood vessels which changed my migraine experience entirely (from 1-2 days suffering to 0.5-1 day of pain and able to rest). I don't think I've had nausea with my migraines since taking this medication. It isn't a preventative so only effective once the migraine has started but I have less fear now of an attack which probably reduces my stress levels anyway. The combination of all these supports means I don't have to rely on strong pain killers to get through (always better for your liver). |
