Headache Therapy

[Alisa]

I need some help - I'm at work with a splitting headache. I took some Tylenol a few hours ago, and have had a liter of water in the last hour - no relief. Does anyone know any of those "magic" solutions where you press on a certain spot on your neck or something? Owwwwwwwww.....
Thanks,
Alisa

[Little Bit]

Are you certain you know the source of the headache? I get headaches sometimes that respond beautifully to half a dose of Sudafed, but don't respond to much else (relaxation techniques included) that leaves me functional.

Have you got a few minutes and privacy enough to try some relaxation techniques to see if that helps? (i.e. tense and release the muscles in your toes, feet, ankles, calves, knees, thighs, hips, etc. then move on to your fingers, hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder, etc.)

You might try rubbing your palms together and placing them over your eyes for a few minutes, but if you're really busy these techniques might be impractical.
I hope you feel better soon!

[Jewel]

Now you said 'Magic Potions', so don't go throwing anything at me for suggesting this, but my ex-husband used to get terrible headaches, and his doctor told him to soak his hands in very warm water (closer to hot) for about 5 minutes. He said that helped 'open' the blood vessels which helped circulation, and in turn helped headache pain. He told me that 50% of the time it helped! Fill up a sink or something and go soaking!

On the more 'normal' tactics, see if anyone in your area has any 'Aleve'. Since it's more of a muscle relaxer, it usually takes care of my headaches quicker than Tylenol!

Sorry you feel so icky Alisa! :(

[Alisa]

Thanks for the help - I should print this off and carry it in my wallet. Unfortunately I am working alone in a busy library so can't really try a lot of these things - five minutes in the bathroom would really be a luxury in this job! The good news is that I'm only an hour away from a supper break so I'll try each and every suggestion then.

Source of the headache? Allergies? Spending hours up a ladder painting my house? Stress that most of my friends and possibly DH are going overseas to fight? PMS? What I really need is a bottle of wine, I think.

Thanks for the help and empathy guys!
A.

[Jewel]

Originally posted by Alisa
Spending hours up a ladder painting my house?

If that was my headache I'd know exactly what the culprit was!! Paint is the second worst, the WORST is using varnish!! You need a nap and a cool pillow Girlfriend! ;)

[Alisa]

You are so right Jewel...thanks for letting me whimper.
A.

[Little Bit]

Working in a library? Ack! No wonder you have a headache!!
(deleted references to my own past experiences earning headaches working in libraries, :) LOL!)

Is the place you work properly ventilated? This time of year it can be really hard to keep the temperature comfortably regulated to everyone's satisfaction. I remember some real chuckles at one library I used to work in, since one group of employees could never keep the place cold enough to suit themselves, and the other couldn't ever get warm! (and just try mixing the groups to work together. A trip to the break room for one was enough to get the others scurrying for the thermostat, LOL!)

One thing that can work if you're too hot, is to run COLD water over your hands for a few moments and then place them on the back of your neck. Ahh!

[Beth]

You can try rubbing the area around your temples and the back of your neck. Tension headaches may cause tightened muscles in those areas especially.

I have heard there is a pressure point in your hand in the soft tissue area between your thumb and index finger. I can't say I've tried that.

[Alisa]

Little Bit,
Good thought but I don't think it's ventilation - we have lots of windows that actually open so there's lots of nice fresh air. What didn't you like about working in a library? I really like my job, but then this is a very small public library and I usually work alone.

Beth,
I am rubbing my temples as we "speak". Jewel's hot water solution seems to be working. It's amazng how long 5 minutes can be when you're holding your hands in a sink...
A.

[crlykat]

I agree with Little Bit about relaxing your muscles. I just finished editing a book on massage therapy and they discussed the biological reasons why your body feels bad.
Headaches are often caused by tense muscles which restrict the flow of oxygen to the brain. Oxygen carries blood to the brain, and with the decreased supply of oxygen, brain metabolism slows down, and your blood vessels dilate because they feel like they are suffocating. Then the pain comes.
Keeping your muscles loose and relaxed helps a lot.

(Sorry about my unscientific paraphrasing.) :D

Hope you feel better!

[Alisa]

Originally posted by crlykat
(Sorry about my unscientific paraphrasing.) :D
Hope you feel better!

I APPRECIATE your unscientific paraphrasing - otherwise it wouldn't have made sense to me! Thanks for the good thoughts and advice - I feel a lot better now - problem is I don't know which therapy worked because I tried so many of them!!!

Alisa's Headache Fixer

Get everyone out of library at 5pm SHARP!
Lay head on desk, close eyes and think of a blank wall for 5 minutes.
Tense and relax most body parts.
Immerse hands in hot water for five minutes.
Have sandwich and milk for supper.
Open more windows.
Log into BB periodically for moral support.
Re-open library for night shift feeling much better.

:D

[Little Bit]

Hi Alisa,

Glad you're feeling better, whew! You get to close the library for a break?? Wow!

I used to work for a county-wide system, it wasn't much fun. (Definitely a 'want some fries with fries with that?' push 'em out the door vibe, not lots of support for staff.)

I loved being able to interact one on one with people who had something that interested them to hunt out. If they just wanted some library employee to do the work for them, it just wasn't my cup of tea.