How to Get Rid of a Headache Without Medication

We all get headaches for various reasons, ranging from poor nutrition to stress. Learning how to get rid of a headache without medication can impact both your health and your wallet.

Things You'll Need

• Ice
• Frozen vegetables
• Heat pack
• Peppermint, marjoram or rosemary leaves
• Cucumber, sliced
• Lavender essential oil

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Instructions

• 1

  Wrap some ice in a washcloth and apply it to your temples and forehead at the very first sign of an impending headache. A bag of frozen vegetables can also serve as a handy icepack. This remedy will help ease your headache because it numbs the pain and lowers the temperature, shrinking blood vessels that are enlarged and pumping blood at an increased rate. It is especially effective when your headache is caused by heat or by humid surroundings.

• 2

  Apply heat to the back of your neck to relieve a tension headache by helping to loosen tense muscles. You can do this with a heat pack or by taking a hot shower, directing the water to the back of your neck. A warm washcloth or hot water bottle may also be used.

• 3

  Prepare an herbal infusion from peppermint or marjoram. You can make this natural, medicinal brew by pouring boiling water over a peppermint or marjoram tea bag (or 1 tsp. of dried herb). Cover and let steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain and sip one or two cups of the herbal tea slowly to ease your headache. Another headache-relieving herbal tea can be prepared from 5 to 7 rosemary leaves, using this same method.

• 4

  Lie down in a dark room and place 3 or 4 cucumber slices on your forehead and relax. Breathe in deeply through your nose and breathe out through your mouth. The dark will make it easier to relax, enabling your tension and headache to dissipate faster. Cucumber slices provide a natural method for cooling your skin and relieving swelling.

• 5

  Make an herbal compress from lavender essential oil. Stir 5 drops lavender essential oil into a bowl of cold water, and then wet a washcloth in the solution. Place the washcloth on your forehead or the back of your neck.

• 6

  Squeeze very firmly the web of skin between your pointer figure and thumb. Alternatively, apply pressure just under the bony ridges at the back of your head. This acupressure can help ease your headache.