Headaches & Migraines

Everybody gets headaches, even if you don't realize it.  For some people they are more debilitating than others.  Here are a few questions a homeopath might ask you:

1. Where in your head do you feel the pain?
2. What makes it worse? Light, sound, or smell sensitivity?  If your headaches are worse around light, then obviously they will be better in a dark room with your eyes closed.
3. What makes it better? Fresh air, warm shower, pressure (tightly wrapping the head), cold compress, lying down, etc.
4. Do you get nauseous?
5. How long have you had them?  If you can pinpoint when they started, did anything occur at this time?
6. What else is going on in the body at the same time?
7. Do they start a specific time of the day?
8. How are you, in general, in direct sunlight?

Again, like with any symptoms, it is a good idea to have a full case of the patient.  This will help determine what else is going on in the body, physical or mental/emotional, and treat the patient's imbalance as a whole.  If headaches or migraines have been happening for a while then it is important to know the entire chronic picture of a patient.  Homeopaths ask weird questions such as those about body temperature, digestion, food cravings, sleep, thirst, etc.  The right remedy will bring to balance that which is out of balance.

Here are a few example of homeopathic remedies linked to the symptoms they are describing:

• Belladonna: Face gets flushed, head feels hot.  Sound sensitivity, violent pulsating pain.  Often felt in the forehead.  Worse from pressure, worse lying down especially in a warm bed, worse warm weather.  Pupils dilated.
• Natrum-Muriaticum: Headache in the temples or near and behind the eyes.  Extreme light sensitivity, better lying down in a dark room.  Worse in direct sunlight without protection.  Patient is thirsty.
• Nux-Vomica: Patient wakes up with a headache.  Worse cold weather or upon getting cold.  Headache from a hangover.  Headache is affected by certain types of food and smells, worse after eating.  The Nux-V patient is often a Type A personality, so headaches can be brought on by overworking.  

Dosage depends on frequency, intensity, and sensitivity.  Remember, ask the advice of a professional, the remedy bottles give impersonal instructions.  A good starting point for acute onset of a headache or migraine is 200c, and then go up from there.  If you've been having headaches or migraines chronically then you also need to consider balancing the body in general, not only when you have the onset.  Potency and dosage for this is dependent on the patient.