Remedies for Headaches

Contributed by Ambika Sridhar

Headache is a common disorder which each of us expereince. Some get headache once in a blue moon while some get headaches every now and then. If you study your headache and which part of the head is aching I think you can avoid taking Panadols and take care by this home remedies.

Headache around the temple:
This is mainly due to eye sight change, or computer stress. check if your reading glasses are correct or it is time to do your eyesight check. Take a break from computer, walk around for 10 to 15 minutes. Drink plenty of water. Cut an apple sprinkle little salt or chat masala and munch it. See what happens next.

Ache at the back of the neck:
Aha! you've used the wrong pillow or watched the television lying on sofa with high headsupport. The head exercise of yoga comes handy to loosen the muscles. Give a nice rub with both your hands to neck. A tea of Ginger and Cardomom refreshes. Have a head massage with oil. I have tried "Keo Karpin" oil which has Jasmine oil fragrance. It really works wonder for a headache.

Upper part of Head, all over:
Stop and think! you had good bowel or Are you hungry. If you are constipated or too much starving with hunger, this could be the reason.

For constipation, take laxative, or munch few Prune fruits (Natural laxatives) or bananas. Keep drinking warm water. These will cure your constipation & your headache.

For hunger eat hot rice with either curd or buttermilk. Once your stomach gets its meal your headache will disappear.

Sinus headaches:
During cold conditions, windy weather, our sensory parts of the face gets sore and blocked giving severe headaches.

1. Take a spoon of Ajwain (carom seeds), lightly roast on pan, put into a hanky tie it like a small bundle and keep smelling it at regular intervals. This opens of blocked nose, and helps reducing the headache.

2. Take a one teaspoon of Raw rice and 5-6 whole pepper, grind them together with few drops of water into a smooth paste. Apply that on the forhead. Let the paste dry out as keeps drying the headache reduces with it.

These are some home remedies for headache that could avoid the usage of pain killers!

Kitchen remedies - Digestive & Gastric troubles

There are some very simple remedies in your kitchen that will solve your troubled stomach... you don't have to depend on chemicals all the time...

• Chew a few jeera seeds (cumin seeds) and make sure that you chew it slowly... It helps in gastric troubles
• If chewing jeera is a problem then drink it... dry roast jeera seeds till they become black then add a glass of water to it... Boil this mix till the glass of water becomes half... strain the cumin seed & drink the water after it cools down a little... This gives good relief for gastric problems and also stomach pains due to eating very late.
• A raw potato is also useful if you have eaten a lot... chew a piece of raw potato & you will be hungry soon
• Dhaniya seeds (corriander) & dried ginger boiled in water for 20 mins is excellent for controlling cholestrol. This is a good tonic for good digestion... In kerala its called Chukku Vellam and this water is normally had instead of plain water.
• For over eating or gastric troubles you can also chew a piece of fresh ginger. If you like curd rice then have fresh ginger marinated in lime juice & salt along with curd rice its just too yummy & your gastric troubles will vanish.
• If you have heart burns or you feel uneasy due to having food late.. have a gulp of cold milk. It has worked for me many times.
• Loads of fruits & vegetables are very very good for improving the fiber content in your body... Make sure you have them in abundance... you will be speared from constipation.
• Warm water early in the morning even before you brush your teeth is very good for bowel movement... If you are constipated lots of water during the day should help.
• Psyllium husk is also very effective for curing constipation. It is said that if you have this regularly it will also improve your digestive system... it says that on the label!
• Deepavali Lehyam... This is like chavanprash or fudge but made with many spices like pepper, corriander seeds, cumin seed, dried ginger, honey, etc... This is normally made during Deepavali to digest all the sweets & savoury that we have during the festive time... This mix has a very high place in ayurveda... It is supposed to balance all the three doshas.

These are some of the remedies that I have been using or have heard from my parents & aunts... I hope they prove to be useful to you.

Make sure that you check your allergies before you jump into any self remedy!

Tooth & Gum Care at Home

Its the jet & fast food age but we tend to ignore small things & land up paying heaps to the doctors. Especially the dentists!

There are some really simple & easy medicines in our kitchen that could help healing teeth & gum problems... Try them if you are not allergic to them... in case it has (mostly not but...) adverse affects see a doc...

Remedies for Tooth & Gum problems:

• NEEM: This is one of the best remedies & always works like a charm for me... Whenever I have pain in my teeth or they get very sensitive I brush my teeth with neem powder & tooth paste... The pain or sensitivity disappears in 2 days. Neem is supposed to be a very powerful anti-fungal medicine and has many more to it... I will write more about neem & its uses later!
• SALT: The common salt in our kitchen is also very useful in curing problem related to our teeth... use it as a mouthwash & it will clean the infectious areas within. You can even used salt to brush your teeth... It helps in killing all the germs & keeping your teeth and gums clean & healthy!
• CLOVE & OIL OF CLOVE: My grand ma used to tell me to keep a clove inside my mouth & suck its juice making sure that the juice touches the painful or infected part of the tooth or gum... This used to solve the problem almost immediately... Even rubbing oil of cloves in your teeth & gums helps in maintaining them... It helps in removing the swelling & pain.
• GARLIC: A clove of garlic pressed in your painful spot will help a lot... I have never tried this but I have heard may of my relatives talk about how effective it is. Apparently Gralic with salt will be even more beneficial.
• COCONUT: This is useful for solving your ulcer problems... In case you have an ulcer inside your mouth a chew a fresh piece of coconut... let the milk of the coconut touch us ulcer & it will heal within no time... If you keep having ulcers then its better you check it out with your doc.
• ICE: A block of ice pressed against the swollen part of your gum will give instant relief.

These are few things that are normally available with us & can be used instantly for solving some problems. The best way to avoid teeth problems is to make sure that you brush your teeth regularly especially after you have something sweet & if you can use neem or salt every day while brushing it will most definitely help.

Before I sign off... there are so many benefits of neem, clove, garlic, coconut and salt... I'll write more about them soon... In case any of you readers have some more suggestions they could be posted as well...

Happy living!