One thing I’ve got plenty of experience with is headaches. Listen, I’m not bragging about that experience… I’m just saying that I know a thing or two about that nasty word. And migraines? Girl, I got you there too. If you’ve never had a migraine, count yourself blessed. Very, very blessed.
I felt like Girl Talk Tuesday was the best time for us to tackle this topic since we talk about things like period cramps and small breasts. A lot of times headaches and migraines are hormonal. Other times they’re hereditary, a result of your environment or a plethora of other reasons. If you read my birth control blog post, then you know that I went through a dark period of time when migraines literally took over my life. I learned so much about my body and how to deal with headaches/migraines during that time. I wanted to share the wealth with any of my sisters who also suffer.
9 Headache and Migraine Hacks:
- Pain Killers. This one is a duh, I know. But the reason it’s #1 on my list is to not wait until it’s too late to take something for the pain. Many times I feel like I can just deal with the pain, because it’s no that bad… Then, all of sudden, the pain takes a quick turn and I’m in severe pain. Listen to your body. Take a small dose to knock it out before it gets worse if you know that you have a tendency to get worse before you get better. I personally use either Advil or Excedrin Migraine.
- Chug that water! Girl, stay hydrated. Being dehydrated can be the only reason you’re in pain, so try to stay on top of your water intake daily.
- Find a cool, dark place. My migraines come with an aura, so I get about a 30 minute warning. At the first sign of migraine (aura) I pop an Excedrin Migraine and go find a cool, dark place to lay down. I’ve found that if I do this immediately, I sometimes only get a mild headache. If I wait too long, then the headache comes full force. Being in a cool, dark room relaxes your eyes and keeps you calm.
- Turn down the volume. Being in the quiet will dramatically help reduce the pain sometimes.
- Keep an ice pack on hand. I’ve found that an ice pack placed on the base of my head/neck area really helps manage the pain.
- Invest in a steamer. When my headaches are allergy or sinus related, I find that oftentimes I’m just really dried out. Sitting under my steamer is such a relief during a bad headache or migraine.
- Rinse those passages! If you’re suffering from allergy or sinus headaches, consider doing regular nasal passages. As my allergist put it to me, we wash our bodies every day, but we never wash our nasal passages. Think about all the dust, dirt and pollen we breathe in on the regular. A nasal rinse can really help to keep those allergy headaches to a minimum.
- Olbas oil. I’m a big believer in homeopathic medicine. When I can, I use Olbas oil to treat my headaches instead of popping yet another painkiller.
- Watch your diet. Have you noticed that your headaches or migraines come from certain triggers? Maybe it’s only the week before your period? Or maybe it’s when you skip your morning cup of coffee? For me, I know MSG is a major trigger. Consider journaling your headaches, what you did and ate the day before, and maybe you’ll begin to see a pattern form.
What are your headache tips and tricks? I feel like I’ve tried just about anything and everything under the sun, these are just the things I’ve found that actually work for me. Leave a comment and let me know how you treat your headaches. Also, if you’re noticing more headaches than normal lately, go see your doctor.
Photos by Kara Coleen.
What I’m Wearing:
Sweater (sold out); similar here and here // Frame Flare Jeans // Steve Madden Edit Booties
Girl, I feel you on this one. I started getting severe migraine headaches when I was a baby. I got them every 4 to 5 weeks like clock work, until age 12. They started spreading out a little at that time to about every 2 months. They again started spreading to every 4 months in high school, and then eventually to now where it’s pretty rare for me to have one. As a young child I really had no warning other than we knew they would come every month. Worse than that, there really wasn’t anything I could do since I would almost immediately be sick with them for about 12 hours, and then the next 12 were a recovery phase. Doctors couldn’t see any sort of specific triggers for me. The best thing for me was trying to sleep it off in between times of being sick. I would sleep in a dark, cool room.
As I got older and could kind of sense them coming on a little better we found out about Zomig. It’s literally a miracle worker. It does make me a little sleepy, but it takes the headache and moves it to your neck. I do get a little stiffness in that area for a bit, but to me it’s completely worth it.