Headaches are the most common forms of pain which every individual without exception experiences in life. The causes of headaches are usually very simple. Tension, a bad day at work, eye strain and lack of water or dehydration are some common causes. Sometimes, even when people are hungry for a prolonged period, they may suffer a headache. Women offer suffer from headaches when the level of oestrogen, a female sex hormone fluctuates in the body. This happens usually before, during or after the menstrual period.

There are many simple home remedies for headache which gives instant release from pain. But to be able to understand how these remedies work, we need to know the causes and symptoms of headaches. There may be cases when the headache is caused more than just a hunger pang or a fluctuating hormone. Serious problems like brain tumour, meningitis, very high blood pressure also have severe headache as one of their symptoms. Hence it is important that we know the root cause for headache so that the correct home remedies for headache may be prescribed.

Types of headache and their causes

Migraine: This is one of the manifestations of vascular headache. In this type of headache, one or both the sides of the head hurt a great deal. The eye sight is also not clear. Things appear blurred. You feel as though someone is pounding your head from within. Losses of appetite, nausea and in extreme cases, fever are some of the common problems that occur along with migraine. There is no specific cause for migraine. It depends largely on hereditary factors.

Myogenic or muscular pain: This is caused by the tightening of the muscles in the head and the neck. The pain is spasmodic. Muscular pain may move to the forehead too. Many people often mistake it for migraine. There are no accompanying problems here. Tension and stress are the most likely causes for myogenic or muscular pain.

Cervicogenic pains: These are mainly caused when there are problems concerning the neck. Movement of the neck, positioning of the head awkwardly, arm pain or shoulder pain and ipsilateral neck are some of the problems occurring along with cervicogenic pains. The neck movement is restricted. The range of movement of the arms and shoulders are limited too. There is a pain of a different type. It is sometimes vague and may be of a radicular nature or a non radicular nature.

Inflammatory or traction headaches: These headaches are usually caused due to a wide range of factors. Sinusitis, migraine, meningitis etc all fall under this spectrum. That is, inflammatory or traction headaches are usually symptoms of an impending problem. They are never the problem themselves. Hence they need special medical attention. Accordingly, the treatment also is different.

Home Remedies for headaches

Home Remedies for headache are usually simple and give immediate relief from the pain as long as they are not caused by any serious disorder. For example, a pain killer such as aspirin or panadol will eliminate the pain within minutes. However, we must first ensure that the pain has been caused only by a simple factor such as tension or dehydration and not by meningitis or encephalitis. If you have prolonged and a throbbing pain which frequently occurs, visit the doctor at the earliest.

While over the counter drugs such as ibuprofen and aspirin relieve the headache, there are some precautions that must be taken when consuming these drugs. Patients with hearing difficulties and balance disorders are not advised to take aspirin as it makes the condition worse. Teenagers and children are also not allowed to use aspiring too often for it causes neural diseases which may result in death or coma. Patients suffering from ulcers in the stomach or the duodenum must not take aspirin. Aspirin may induce the ulcer to bleed and this may hinder its healing progress. Patients with disorders of the kidney too react to aspirin unfavourably.