I have a bit of a headache going on. What non-traditional things have helped you get rid of headaches in the past? As in, besides Aspirin, Advil, etc.

-- Sherry (sherina@masc.ca), June 28, 2000

Answers

Certain type of headaches, like tension headaches across the front or back of the head, often respond well to direct pressure.

You'd sit down and have George place the heel of his right hand on the back of your neck just below the base of your skull and the heel of his left hand in the dent where your nose meets your brow ridge. Then he'd gradually press them together as hard as he could for as long as he could, then gradually relax the pressure. It cuts off some of the peripheral blood flow in your scalp long enough for some of the blood vessels to relax.

I've used it on lots of people and have gotten some good results. It would be nice if you could do it on yourself, but it takes a friend.

-- Terry (terry@surfnetusa.com), June 29, 2000.

Can't help with this one as I haven't had a headache for years. Or is that the help. When I was younger I found that when people said they had a headache my head would hurt, I thought this was silly. "That just can't be" I said to myself "you can't have a headache just because of that>" Since then I really haven't had one just a little trouble the morning after drinking a bit too much that has gone with a little water and fresh air. I suppose it's due to relaxing and not worrying about it. Fresh air in town can be a problem though.

-- Brian Fretwell (brian@brifret.demon.co.uk), June 29, 2000.

Caffeine baby !!!

http://thinkgeek.com/stuff/caffeine.html

-- dave (niffel@crosswinds.net), June 30, 2000.

I go for a huge glass of water. I think that soaking the brain is the key for me. Water makes everything feel better.

-- Scotty (scotty@foo.bar), July 10, 2000.

I hate taking Advil and aspirin and Tylenol don't work, so I have several things I can do:

If it's a tension headache (constant, dull pain), I take a very hot shower and let the water beat down on the back of my head and neck.

If it's the other kind (sharper pains that intensify with my heartbeat), caffeine helps me too.

Generally I have figured out what causes my headaches and avoid the triggers. I always wear sunglasses outside (sunlight), avoid driving long distances in my older car (angle of the seat causes neck tension), never wear a heavy backpack anymore (I had a headache every day in college). The only headaches I can't prevent are the hormonal and weather-related ones.

-- Evelynne (evelynne@diaryland.com), July 27, 2000.