Headaches are very often experienced in our stressful lives due to various reasons. It is a pain in your head or face that could be throbbing, constant, sharp or dull. It is the major cause of absenteeism from work or school, which hampers our social and family lives. It can be treated with medications and stress management techniques like yoga.

Headaches have a tendency to run in families especially migraines. Kids are upto four times more likely to develop migraines, whose parents have it too. They can be also triggered by environmental factors such as:

# Eating certain foods or ingredients, such as caffeine, alcohol, fermented foods, chocolate and cheese,

# Exposure to allergens, Secondhand smoke (passive smoking and pollution),

# Strong odors from household chemicals or perfumes.

# Common triggers of tension, headaches and migraines are:

Alcohol use.

Constipation

Changes in eating or sleeping patterns, lack of sleep

Dehydration

Depression.

Emo- tional stress related to family and friends, work or school.

Excessive medication use.

Eye, neck or back strain caused by poor posture.

Lighting

Noise

Weather changes

General exhaustion.etc

CURE FOR HEADACHE- Occasional, mild headache can be treated with pain relievers at home and other self care treatment like:

Applying heat or cold packs to you head

Doing stretching exercises

Massaging your head, neck or back

Using bhringraj oil or brahmi oil for foot and scalp massage

Resting in a dark and quiet room

Taking a walk outdoors

Yogic forward bends like Balasana, hasta padasana, boat pose, bow pose, palm tree pose, spinal twist, standing on your toes, and leg raise in supine position are helpful.

Deep breathing and pranayam practices like anulom vilom, brahmari.

Nasya technique with ghee is beneficial according to ayurveda

Steam inhalation with few drops of eucalyptus oil is also beneficial.

These tips are useful in relieving headache, but, if it persists for a long period of time, along with neurological symptoms like such as blurred vision, difficulty in coordination or speech, memory loss, numbness or weakness in your arms or legs etc. then we need consult the doctor.