Treat your Headaches with Essential Oils

Headaches are something that has been plaguing people from the beginning of time. You are probably also familiar with the pain that goes around your head, most of the time even extending to the back of your neck. Headaches are definitely something that can kill the mood for basically everything, regardless if it’s work or social/private time. Fortunately, there are treatments for headaches that do not involve taking painkillers as if they were mint drops. And those treatments are 100% natural. But in order to treat the problem, you need to know what is it that you should be treating.

Types of Headaches

• Tension headaches

These can occur from lack of sleep, humid or hot weather, stress or even very noisy kids. It’s the most common of headaches, which is characterized by pain that can go from your eyes to your neck, and other muscles found around that area.

• Migraine headaches

These are more severe than the tension headaches, characterized by great pain on the side of your head, and it’s usually accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to everything external (sound, light, smell).

• Cluster headaches

Similar to migraines (or even more severe), cluster headaches are also characterized by pain on one side of your head or around the eye, their cause being a neurological condition. Symptoms may include watering and swelling of the eyes and nasal congestion.

• Hormonal headaches

These can appear when a woman is about to or has already begun menstruating.

• Sinus headaches

Caused by a sinus disorder, these headaches usually occur around the nose bridge, cheekbones and forehead.

Ways to Treat Headaches Naturally

When tormented by headaches, the first instinct a person has is to resort to painkillers to make a quick fix. However, when it comes to these pills, it is known that on the long run you risk being exposed to side effects. This is where essential oils can prove to come in handy. They can not only relieve your headache but also look for the source and treat it entirely. Here are some examples of essential oils to relieve your headache.

• Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender has analgesic effects and proves useful when it comes to pain relieving. Studies made on migraine patients show that sniffing lavender essential oil for 15 minutes every 30 minutes for two hours can relieve headaches entirely.

• Peppermint Essential Oil

This triggers cooling effects and relaxes your nerves and muscles, promoting blood circulation and thus, relieving your headache.

• Rosemary Essential Oil

Popular for relieving any kind of muscle stress and pain, rosemary has relaxing and analgesic properties that can help you get rid of that pesky headache.

• Feverfew Essential Oil

Efficient in treating migraines, this oil is said to work like a charm in curing people’s headaches.

• Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Both antibacterial and analgesic, eucalyptus essential oil can relieve sinus headaches and relax the muscles, inducing a calming sensation. It is also used for treating colds and bronchitis.

You can either use a topical application (applied directly to your skin) or inhalation (steam or direct inhalation) of your preferred essential oil. For a quicker, more effective way to relieve your headache, it is recommended that you lie down for about an hour in a dark room.