9 home remedies for Headaches and Migraines

There are a variety of causes for headaches and migraines including constricting blood vessels, tension in muscles, and infection. Headaches, including migraines are some of the most common illnesses and health conditions today.

At the same time, there are several home remedies you can count on to cure headaches and migraines. It actually depends on what's available near you but more importantly, depending on the cause of headaches. Home cures carry additional health benefits such as of dietary nature and most importantly have lesser associated side effects. Other benefits include being less costly and easily available, but that depends on where you live. Most of them are also quick and easy to prepare.

Below are some of the options to take:

Lavender oil has been used for years to make environments smell great. Luckily, it doubles as an easily available home remedy that can be used to alleviate headache and migraines.

Inhale or apply it physically but never should it be taken orally. For treating headaches, it is recommended that you boil two to three cups of water and put two to four drops of lavender in it. Inhale the vapors produced in the process. You can even apply it externally safely, making it better than most medicinal oils.

This fresh-smelling and soothing home remedy can ease tension headaches. It works by helping to control flow of blood in the body, thanks to its vaso-constricting and vaso-dilating properties (this means it can open up and constrict blood vessels). These poor blood flow tendencies are the major causes of headaches and migraine pains. By opening up the sinuses, more oxygen is able to get into bloodstream.

This eases headaches by reducing inflammation of blood vessels in the head. Mix with lemon juice in equal parts and take it twice daily. You can also use ginger powder - a paste is made by mixing one teaspoon of the powder (sonth) with two tablespoons of water and then applied on the forehead for a few minutes. You can also chew two crystallized ginger candy pieces

This oil comes from the good-smelling basil herb, which is also used in topping pizzas and pastas. You can derive oil from this herb and use it as a natural headache treatment.

Basil oil works by relaxing muscles, and that helps ease headaches given that tighter muscles also cause tension headaches.

Surprisingly enough, changing your diet can help relieve migraine pains and headaches. Consider foods that have been proved to affect the frequency at which headaches and migraine pains occur, as well as their severity. However, it is also necessary to take note of your reaction to these natural cures and certain allergies you might have to certain things.

Massaging the greater occipital nerve that is located at the base of the skull at back of your head can ease migraine pain, so say researchers in Brazil. You can do this yourself at home! It can safely be used in combination with other treatments. Reflexology, which involves massaging reflex points on hands and feet, can help ease headaches at home.

Although used to treat fever, it can also act as a home remedy for headaches, especially following the results of a study done in Great Britain on people who were experiencing migraine. 70% of the participants reported a reduction in migraine pains following taking of feverfew herb.

You can also consider taking the herb daily together with another herbal remedy called white willow. The latter has properties similar to aspirin.

Inflammation is another cause for headaches and taking foods and seeds rich in omega-3 fatty acid such as flaxseed can ease these types of headaches. You can use it as a whole seed, in ground form or extract its oil.

It contains rutin flavonoid, a phytochemical that helps ease migraine pain. These chemicals have antioxidant properties and this makes them useful in counteracting cell damage. Flavonoids can ease headaches caused by inflammation as proved by researchers in Taiwan.

Taking easily available fruits such as bananas, avocados and citrus can help towards that, as will the taking of chocolate and peanut butter. Make sure to include onions and nitrate-rich meats in your diet if you are looking for a natural cure for headache or migraines. Hot dogs and bacon is known to contain nitrates.

You can also take foods containing glutamate (MSG) and tyramine, an amino-acid found in red wine. Fermented and pickled food can also act as natural cures for headaches and migraine.