The best thing to do for a migraine is not to let it start!
There are many things we can do to prevent migraines, at least a lot of the time. In the meantime, if you have a migraine, or feel one coming on, here are some tips to help you feel better.
As you know, aspirin generally doesn’t do a thing for a migraine headache. However, there are 2 over-the-counter remedies that might help.
1. Aleve (or its’ generic, naproxin) may work for you if you take a dose (1 or 2 tablets) at the onset–follow the directions on the label. In 2019 or so, it became added to sumatriptan prescription medication. That also caused the cost of the prescription to go up a ton, so just add it separately yourself if you take sumatriptan.
2. Alka Seltzer may work, because it gives you a fully-dissolved dose of aspirin all at once. Follow directions on the label.
Here are some other simple pain relief remedies to try:
1. If the muscles on the tops of your shoulders are all “jammed up,” try a heating pad or heated cloth bag filled with rice to relax your shoulders.
2. Lie down with an ice pack or cold pack comfortably positioned under your neck and the base of your skull. Place a cold, wet cloth over your eyes. If the cloth warms up, keep a basin of cool water next to your bed to refresh it.
If the cloth is drippy, that’s fine. It’s actually good, because the cold drips will affect more of the nerves and muscles on your head. Just put a plastic bag and towel under your head and shoulders to catch the drips.
3. Don’t be shy about pushing or pulling on the muscles around your ears, temples, forehead, back of your head, or anywhere you can reach. Sometimes the migraine is from the inside out, and sometimes it’s from the outside in.
4. Pull your hair. The soft tissues around your whole head get tight with a migraine. By clasping your fingers in your hair, close to your head, and pulling outward, you can use your hair as little levers to help relax your scalp muscles.
5. Try to straighten up. Your heavy head pulls on the muscles around your neck and shoulders when it’s in front of your body and can cause head pain. If you can lift your chest, your head will move back and be more over your body and take some of the strain off your muscles & nerves. Do this when you DON’T have a headache or migraine, too.
Here’s hoping that at least one of these tips will help you have less migraine pain. And I wrote an easy-to-use book for you to help get rid of or reduce those miserable headaches and migraines naturally.
