Saturday, January 28, 2012

All Natural Headache Remedy

So if you've been reading my weekly pregnancy updates, you've noticed that this pregnancy has brought with it many headaches. (Like the literal headaches, that hurt your head.) And I hadn't been able to get rid of them with anything.

  • I tried acetaminophen -- NOTHING! Ever! No help!
  • I tried tying heat pads to my head. The warmth kinda distracted me and made me feel cozy, drowsy -- but it did not really bring any real assistance.  (I was just informed via facebook, that in fact, I should have been putting cold on my head, and hot on my feet. You want to decrease blood flow to the head to improve headaches. So don't follow me on my heating pad idea!)
  • I tried more water. No change.
  • I tried coffee. On occasion that helped. But not always. And I need to watch the caffeine intake.
So I was stuck with headaches.
Then I saw this idea that peppermint oil might help. 
Googled that right up!

Tried it.
Seriously magical!
It is the only thing that has helped me, and it really really helps me.

So what do you do?

Just grab yourself some peppermint essential oil. Take one little drop and rub it on each temple.
Somehow the cooling sensation is a magical cure of wonder!
It takes about one minute for the cooling feeling to really kick in, and about 30 seconds after that, my headache is soooo much better. Actually its gone!
And I can tell it is working, because when it evaporates, my headache comes back until I reapply.

Couple things to note:
  • I read you should test the oil on your skin in a less conspicuous spot, just to make sure you don't have a weird reaction to it. I tried it on my hand.
  • Don't go nuts and put a lot on your temple, you just need a tiny bit. The cooling sensation can get a bit intense if you go too heavy, and it actually can feel more like burning. (I guess its sorta like icy hot.)
  • At first when I applied it, I was moving around quite a bit, and I noticed that the vapors kinda wafted towards my eyes and it stung a tiny bit. (This was a small price to pay for the awesome relief it brought, allowing me to move around so much!) But if it bothers you, just stay put for a little bit after you put it on.
Also, I think it smells awesome.

Although, I've always been a fan of mint. If I could live next to a mint field I would be ecstatic.
So I plan to use this essential oil for other fun essential oil projects, like homemade air fresher, cleaners, ect.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Lydia! I'm enjoying reading your blog. This one makes me think of Tiger's Balm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Balm) a Chinese natural remedy that gives the same cooling sensation and has always helped my headaches. On another note, I find it hilarious that my cravings have been chips/salsa in 1st trimester and peanuts (lots of them and peanut butter!) in 2nd trimester. Now it is ice cream :) (probably cuz it is so hot here!)......

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  2. I have used essential oils in homemade cleaners and air freshners. Much less chemicals that I can't stand the smell of in the house.
    i also looked at aromatherapy during pregnancy and childbirth. Lavendar is supposed to be relaxing and I intended to bring homemade lavendar air freshner to the hospital. I never had the time to use it during labor but for others it may be great.

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