Headaches

That persistent pain in your head presents a big problem for a lot of people.  Headaches can be a difficult puzzle to unravel- and when you're in the thick of one, sometimes you'd rather cut your head off than try to unravel the Gordian knot.  Let's be pro-active, and present some practical solutions.

• Drink some water.  The Army instructs soldiers that most headaches are simply dehydration.  Personally, I've found that drinking all the water I can handle at once seems to cure that kind of headache in about a half hour. Translation:  down about 3-4 cups of water quickly.
• Go to a chiropractor.  They can do some amazing things for the body.  If the problem is a skeletal one, they are great at fixing the spine.  Proper alignment of the spine then goes deeper, allowing the body to function optimally once again. 
• Look for signs of food allergies.  This requires some willingness to pay attention to your body.  If you notice that your pulse rate shoots up (80 beats or more per minute), or is irregular (beat-beat---pause-beat) 15 minutes or so after eating a particular food, then you likely have a problem with it and need to eliminate it. Which food?  That'll take some detective work.  Please don't convince yourself, "I just have a high pulse rate"-- normal pulse beats are 60-70 bpm.  A high pulse signals something is wrong.
• Avoid Soy and MSG.  They are huge headache-makers.  My husband reacted violently to both of these triggers with severe migraines.  Eliminating them from our diet really helped his headaches.
• Check for mold.  Mold and fungus exposure will bring on headaches, too (along with a host of other problems!).  Mold is everywhere, but it doesn't have to live in your home and make you sick.  Check pipes, furnace, A/C unit for water leaks.  Roof leaks will cause mold to grow in your attic.  And of course, clean the mold out of your bathtub.  Every time water hits a mold site, spores (with their own toxins) spray into the air and creep into your body.  Ewww! 
• Get an evaluation by a dentist specializing in TMJ treatment.  Injuries to the face or jaw, improper bite, car accidents, even a forceps delivery can all cause your Temporo-Mandibular Joint to wear away and become misaligned.  Damage to that joint can cause all kinds of trouble:  ringing in the ears, snoring, shoulder & neck pain, difficulty swallowing, vertigo, hearing loss, and of course, the typical clicking and popping noises when opening and closing the mouth-- not to mention headaches.  Treatment can include getting braces and/or wearing a specially made bite splint.  It certainly worked for me!
• Fix your stress.  Eliminate the stress wherever you can, but don't stress about it!  At the very least, prepare to get a good night's sleep by turning off light-makers.  TV, video games, and computers all emit a lot of light.  Light signals the body to stay awake.  Slow down-- allow the body to rest before dropping into a coma.  Too much stress and not enough rest is a headache cocktail.  It gets my husband all the time.  
• Pray about it.  It's amazing that God answers our prayers.  I've gathered my children around me during my times of sickness and asked them to pray.  One by one, oldest to youngest, they have interceded and God has answered.  I firmly believe that God loves to answer the prayers of children- to grow their faith- and mine.  We do this for all prayer requests.  It's a beautiful thing, indeed.

A quick fix for your headache- after drinking lots of water- might include peppermint essential oil applied to the top of the head and the bottom of the foot.  But, please-- be practical, and get to the source of your headache.

**Thanks to Christy K. for suggesting this post.  Be well!!