Knowing how to get rid of a headache without medicine might make a big difference in your overall health. That kind of knowledge enables you to deal with potentially serious health matters, without falling into the trap of undertaking a cure that's worse than the illness. Because that's exactly what you can do, when you merely mask the original cause. Don't confuse good health with symptom alleviation.
One of life's great ordeals is the headache. At the best of times they're annoying and distracting from the things upon which we'd like to be focusing our attention. And at the other extreme they can be utterly debilitating, making it in fact impossible to focus on anything.
For some people the quick and easy response is to pop some kind of over the counter pharmaceutical. As a blanket solution, though, this one isn't especially promising. The fact is that not all such drugs work for everyone and indeed for some people none of them work.
However, even if you do relieve the headache, there are those who are understandably reluctant to stuff too many industrial strength chemicals into their blood stream. We get enough of that on an ongoing basis, anyway, don't we?
Additionally, don't forget the potential for unpleasant side effects when taking pharmaceuticals. Such side effects span a spectrum that go from the unpleasant annoyances right across to the other end, where one can experience serious health set-backs. At that point one is in genuine danger of a cure that truly is worse than the illness.
That's a fair bit to take into account, but consider this too: even should the industrial strength chemicals work for your biochemistry, and even if they do so without incurring any troubling side effects, when all is said and done, all you've actually achieved is the elimination of your headache symptoms.
Certainly, effective relief of headache symptoms should not be belittled. There's no doubt that headaches may result in major and even debilitating pain and discomfort. Alleviating such suffering can result in a massive improvement in the quality of life for the one suffering the headache. It is necessary though to keep perspective on the big picture. Without belittling the benefits of short term symptom relief, it still has to be observed that the long term consequences, though untended, can be unfortunate.
If our approach to our headache is strictly guided by the relief of symptoms, we never actually address the cause of the headache. Symptoms of course are only effects, not causes. However thoroughly one addresses the effects of something, the cause remains a separate matter.
There's a double barreled problem here. Aside of the obvious fact that symptom relief or management never gets at the physiological, psychological or lifestyle factors causing the headache, the root problem is never solved. The situation is worse than that though. Masking or alleviating symptoms actually reduce our incentive to resolve the root cause of the headache.
A headache, like any other such symptom, is a warning signal about something happening in our body. Ignoring or concealing the warning signal in no way changes the something happening in our body. For instance, to posit a rather dire hypothetical example, taking medication to alleviate any discomfort associated with serious impediments to blood circulation will certainly provide welcome relief from pain. It will not though prevent the onset of gangrene, with the resulting amputation and/or death.
We will repeat, there is no denying here that relief from pain and other symptoms can be a huge benefit to our quality of life. The difference in knowing how to get rid of a headache without medicine, though, provides resolution that goes beyond symptom relief. It is about getting at the root cause: discovering and addressing the source of your headache symptoms.
Not heeding the warning signals of a headache, and going for the quick fix of pharmaceutical symptom relief, is pretty much the same as driving your car with a blindfold on, so that you won't have to stop for any red lights. It will work in the short term. You won't see the red light. It's the long term which is the concern.
One of life's great ordeals is the headache. At the best of times they're annoying and distracting from the things upon which we'd like to be focusing our attention. And at the other extreme they can be utterly debilitating, making it in fact impossible to focus on anything.
For some people the quick and easy response is to pop some kind of over the counter pharmaceutical. As a blanket solution, though, this one isn't especially promising. The fact is that not all such drugs work for everyone and indeed for some people none of them work.
However, even if you do relieve the headache, there are those who are understandably reluctant to stuff too many industrial strength chemicals into their blood stream. We get enough of that on an ongoing basis, anyway, don't we?
Additionally, don't forget the potential for unpleasant side effects when taking pharmaceuticals. Such side effects span a spectrum that go from the unpleasant annoyances right across to the other end, where one can experience serious health set-backs. At that point one is in genuine danger of a cure that truly is worse than the illness.
That's a fair bit to take into account, but consider this too: even should the industrial strength chemicals work for your biochemistry, and even if they do so without incurring any troubling side effects, when all is said and done, all you've actually achieved is the elimination of your headache symptoms.
Certainly, effective relief of headache symptoms should not be belittled. There's no doubt that headaches may result in major and even debilitating pain and discomfort. Alleviating such suffering can result in a massive improvement in the quality of life for the one suffering the headache. It is necessary though to keep perspective on the big picture. Without belittling the benefits of short term symptom relief, it still has to be observed that the long term consequences, though untended, can be unfortunate.
If our approach to our headache is strictly guided by the relief of symptoms, we never actually address the cause of the headache. Symptoms of course are only effects, not causes. However thoroughly one addresses the effects of something, the cause remains a separate matter.
There's a double barreled problem here. Aside of the obvious fact that symptom relief or management never gets at the physiological, psychological or lifestyle factors causing the headache, the root problem is never solved. The situation is worse than that though. Masking or alleviating symptoms actually reduce our incentive to resolve the root cause of the headache.
A headache, like any other such symptom, is a warning signal about something happening in our body. Ignoring or concealing the warning signal in no way changes the something happening in our body. For instance, to posit a rather dire hypothetical example, taking medication to alleviate any discomfort associated with serious impediments to blood circulation will certainly provide welcome relief from pain. It will not though prevent the onset of gangrene, with the resulting amputation and/or death.
We will repeat, there is no denying here that relief from pain and other symptoms can be a huge benefit to our quality of life. The difference in knowing how to get rid of a headache without medicine, though, provides resolution that goes beyond symptom relief. It is about getting at the root cause: discovering and addressing the source of your headache symptoms.
Not heeding the warning signals of a headache, and going for the quick fix of pharmaceutical symptom relief, is pretty much the same as driving your car with a blindfold on, so that you won't have to stop for any red lights. It will work in the short term. You won't see the red light. It's the long term which is the concern.
About the Author:
If you're planning outdoor fun, either at the cottage this summer or a winter getaway in the sunshine, you need to read his great, informative article about Mosquito Bite Allergy Reactions