Top 5 Headache Home Remedies
NOTE: Author has NO medical education / training / certification. All content is purely anecdotal.
Below are five of my tried and true home remedies for curing a headache. Headaches have many causes: sinus pressure, stress, illness,etc. If you have frequent or severe headaches then go to your doctor! The list below is for the 'casual' headache sufferer only. These methods work for me, and they might work for you.
- Water. Many of my headaches are caused be dehydration. When I feel a 'dull aching' headache coming on, I simply dring a tall glass of cool (not ice cold!) water then rest for 10 minutes with my eyes closed. With this method, my headache will ease away nine out of 10 times.
- Food. Headaches can be brought on by hunger. Usually, in these situations, I don't feel very hungry, maybe a bit peckish (I could nosh), but not starving. To remedy the pain, I will make myself a PB&J. The jelly gives me quick sugar energy, the whole grain bread yields some complex carbs, and the peanut butter provides oils and protein. I find this recipie, combined with 10 minutes of rest will do the trick more often than not.
- Chill Out! It may just be a stress headache. Find a comfortable chair. Close your eyes and breath deep: slow inhale through the nose (count 1,2,3,4,5) and exhale through the mouth (again count 1,2,3,4,5). While you relax take an inventory of your body from head to toe. Make note of all you muscle groups, one by one, and activly relax each group. After five minutes you should feel better.
- Massage. For severe headaches, I will lay down in a dark and quiet room and rest. During these episodes, I feel pain behind my eyes and in my temples. Sometimes, I can alleviate the pain by probing my forehead, temples, and cheek bones (above my sinuses) for 'pain points'. When I find an area that causes my head pain to worsen, I will apply ligh pressure on that area or just adjacent. While breathing deeply and steadily, I press on the area for a moment or two and the pain is replaced by relief in that area. I continue to search for areas where the pain is more accute and continue the process until the pain is gone comletely or I fall asleep, whichever comes first.
- Combo. You have to get to know your body and listen to what it is trying to tell you. You need to learn the warning signs of an impending headache. Try to associate the type of heaache with the enviromental factors. At this point, I can pretty easily tell if my head hurts due to sinus pressure from an allergy, stress, or other factor. If you know the cause, it will be easier to apply the corret rememdy. When in doubt, try them in combination. Eat the PB&J with a cool glass of water then rest. When all else fails, take Extra Strengh Excedrin in combination with the above techniques. I hate to sound like a commercial, but nothing works better for eliminating a headache.
Of course, all of these rememdies work for ME! You need to find out what works for you. And remember, you shouldn't get too many headaches. If you are suffering from migranes and frequent severe headaches, there is a chance that there's someting more serious going on in your body. Make that appoinment with your doc. Just be sure to have some Excedrin on hand. Going to the doctor always GIVES me a headache: long waits in the waiting room, that freezing cold exam room, and paying the bill (breath deep 1,2,3,4,5).
Why So Sad?
I went to visit my family a week ago for Easter Sunday dinner. On the ride down, both the Rabbit and I were on cruise control. I felt numb. I95 is not exactly the Pacific Coast Highway,so I attributed my listless state to the listless State of Florida's roads. Soon after I arrived, my sister said I looked sad, and my mom asked me if everything was OK. "I'm fine. Just Tired," I replied. I had spent the weekend at the Parks, Universal on Friday night and Disney's Hollywood Studios all day Saturday. Walking around in the sun must have taken a lot out of me, I assumed.
After a delicious meal of pot roast, lamb, and potatoes I headed home to Orlando and then off to bed. A few hours later, I was in my bathroom with my head in my hands. I will spare you the gory details, but I was hit hard by the flu. For the next few days the thought of food made me sick. I couldn't stand for more than a few minutes without feeling like I was going to keel over. Remembering the advice of a loyal BackingIn.com reader, I called a friend and she brought over some regular Coke. Supposedly, the Coke syrup is supposed to have medicinal qualities for the tummy. I believe it was originally sold by pharmacists, colas that is, as a stomach remedy. I'm not sure if if helped my stomach (the Pepto Bismol and Tylenol probably did the most to alleviate my symptoms), but I was glad to get the high-fructose corn syrup goodness into my system. Ironically, I normally try my best to avoid the empty calories of sugary sodas, but the calories from the Coke combined with bed-rest were the only things aiding my immune system for couple of days.
Did I forget to mention the fever? I can deal with almost any 'normal' sickness, but the feeling of being hot while shivering is the worst. Nothing works better than Tylenol, for me, in dealing with fever, but even Tylenol can't fight off some fevers. On the upside, I did get to use my new digital thermometer a whole bunch. That thing is cool! (Look, I was bored and I couldn't get out of bed to use the computer. Cut me some slack here.) The neat thing about fever is that it is your body's way of fighting infection. Bacteria and viruses thrive at a body's normal temperature, so to make your body a less hospitable place for the bugs the immune system turns up the heat. As I was laying in bed shivering and waiting for the medicine to kick in and lower my fever, I thought maybe I should let myself have a fever. If I get rid of my fever with Tylenol, am I not just giving comfort and aid to the enemy? Perhaps the flu virus was in cahoots with Big Pharmaceuticals to keep us all sick! Luckily, my cat advised me to just take the medicine and get some rest and not think so much. Since she has yet to talk since I've gotten better, I'm going to assume that my talking cat was a fever-induced hallucination.
I'm all better now, and what have I learned from my latest brush with illness. First, my cat is a wonderful caretaker. Second, never take your good health for granted. It is a gift from God. Third, Disney's Hollywood Studios will give you the flu and keep you out of work for a week. I think that pretty much sums it up.
Downtown Pinot
Correction: April 1st, 2010. TheOther46.com didn't host the tasting, actually Lenn Thompson (from the New York Cork Report) in conjunction with the Finger Lakes Wine Country hosted. I told you I was a total Newbie. :-)
Last night I attended my first wine tasting in historic downtown Orlando. My good friend, and founder and editor of theother46.com, hosted a TasteLive.com event for Finger Lakes Wine Country. It was a very enjoyable evening, but more than the wine, I enjoyed the social aspects of the event, both personal and cyber. Our little gathering was but one of many around the country tasting wines from the Finger Lakes wine region of New York State. It was all coordinated via TasteLive.com, a site dedicated to bringing wine lovers together via social media like Twitter. Our little band of four (two experienced, two newbies including myself) sampled five unique Pinot Noirs from the Finger Lakes while our host tweeted the results.
I think I finally 'get' Twitter now. Using Twitter, we were able to be part of a virtual wine tasting event and get instant feedback from everybody. So, not only did I enjoy the company of my good friends while drinking fine wine and noshing on cheese and crackers, I was also part of a larger community of drunks connoisseurs all participation in the same event around the country.
We tasted five Pinots from the Finger Lakes region:
- Atwater Estate Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir
- Damiani Wine Cellars 2008 Pinot Noir
- Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2008 Pinot Noir
- Heart & Hands Wine Company 2008 Pinot Noir
- Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir
The Ravines was the hands-down winner of the night with the Atwater being the least enjoyed. The gang differed on placement on two through four. I really enjoyed the Damiani, the others...not so much. Hearts & Hands was a fan favorite as well, but I was fixated on the Ravines with the rest.
See what others had to say about the tasting on Twitter (#FLXwine, #TTL).
Can I Post From Droid?
I'm sitting here waiting for my Weight Watchers meeting to start, and trying to see if I can post using the WordPress app for Android. There must be something wrong with the scale here. This morning I was down 2 lbs, but during my weigh-in it was only 1.4! What a rip! My scale and the WW scale has always been 4 pounds different...today it is 4.6. I know I shouldn't scale watch too much, but damn I wanted my 2 pounds. I knew I should have purged before the meeting...KIDDING!!! It's a joke, relax! It may be water weight due to the fact that I worked out yesterday, and I'm sore. Right now I'm dreaming of a glass of red...only 2 weight watchers points. I wonder how many points for the bottle I wonder? KIDDING. It's a joke. Gotta go now, class is about to begin.
Unclean!
I like a clean home. I've tried to convince my mother and/or my ex-wife to come over each week and clean my place for me, but for some reason they always refuse. The keep saying selfish things like, "you're an adult now, son, and you must do these things for yourself" and "if you don't stop calling me, I'm going to get the authorities involved." Just kidding. I would never ask anybody to clean my home. Besides, only I can clean to my expectations. When the economy was better, I had a cleaning service and they did a wonderful job, but eventually my stinginess overcame my laziness, and I gave them the boot.
There are three major impediments to having a clean home. The first is my cat, the second is carpet, and the third is grout. My cat does a wonderful job at cleaning...herself. I guess that's why I like cats. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs...other people's dogs. Dogs are just so messy and smelly. My cat came equipped with a self-cleaning mode standard. She is so devoted to being clean that in the middle of chasing her favorite toy she will stop dead and start cleaning her chest fur. ("One, two, three licks...yup that got it, now where was that feather attached to the string? Oh never mind. Let's nap.") Yes, the cat certainly keeps herself clean but at the expense of EVERYTHIGN in my home. If I don't stay on top of things, cat hair will eventually consume me. It's EVERYWHERE! I've spent hundreds of dollars over the years on litter box technology just trying to figure out how to keep the damn litter in the box. I keep finding tiny little paw prints on my flawless glass-top range. She always denies involvement, but I'm pretty sure she's the one leaving those prints.
The coup de grace? One day my cat was outside on the screened-in porch when I saw her get into her wrenching position. It was fur ball extraction time. But wait! Why was she coming back INTO the house?! What the hell?! As I ran to pick her up and bring her back outside she began to blow. I was holding a little, furry Linda Blair spewing half-digested cat food and fur balls all over my rug! Why? Why would she come back INTO the house to vomit when there is a perfectly good concrete slap to throw up on outside ? And that brings me to carpeting.
There is no reason for carpet in the home. Unless you religiously practice the Japanese custom of removing your shoes EVERY time you enter your home AND you have no pets, there should be no carpeting allowed. Oh, how I yearn to have real hardwood floors covered in layer after layer polyurethane (the best substance in the world). Drop some food or wine or cat nastiness on poly-coated hardwood, and it just wipes up! Even better than hardwood is vinyl flooring. Laid onto the floor in one continuous roll with no seams, nothing is getting through this tacky synthetic wonder!
Now, if I can't have wood or vinyl then I'll settle for tile. I really like the look of tile, but the problem with tile is grout. In between each tile there lays a thin line of cement-like substance holding it all together. Grout is porous and holds all the dirt in which it comes in contact. Spill some wine on tile one night, and you better be prepared to get down on you hands and knees with a bottle of bleach and a scrub brush for the rest of the evening. I believe grout can be sealed with silicone or some other synthetic product. If this is true then 'tile sealing' should be part of the Constitution.
I must go now. It's been 10 minutes since I washed my hands, and the bacteria from the keyboard is multiplying on me exponentially! Again. Just kidding. I'm not that bad. I just like clean. And quiet. An no clutter. Wait! I think I just described the 'clean room' at the Kennedy Space Center. Perhaps I should lighten up a bit...nah!
Accountability
Update: March 18th, 2010. BackingIn.com contributor, Craig Lipset, sent me this link about accountability. North Korea executes official for blunder. Now, that's what I call being held to account! Yikes! I bet Bernie Madoff is glad he's an American after reading that story. Then again... Madoff reportedly assaulted by another inmate.
On October 21st, 2009 Northwest Airlines Flight 188 overflew its destination by about 150 miles. The two pilots reportedly became distracted by a discussion of airline scheduling while using their personal laptops, a violation of airline regulations. It was only after a flight attendant asked the pilots about the delay that the two men realized that they were 150 miles past the airport. According to the FAA, the pilots had been out of radio contact for seventy seven minutes.
As a result of this incident, the two pilots had their licenses revoked and according to CNN on Monday, March 15th:
Under a settlement with the FAA, the pilots will not contest their license revocation but can reapply for their licenses in 10 months instead of 12, the agency said.
So much for accountability. Why in the world would there be a settlement? The two pilots in question, after a full investigation and due process, should have been fired, had their licenses revoked, and been prosecuted for criminal negligence. Also, Northwest Airlines, its parent Delta, and the FAA should all have had their heads handed to them. How can, in this post 9/11 world, an airliner be out of contact and deviate from its flight plan for almost an hour and half?
There is no accountability in the world today. It's not just famous athletes and movie stars that get away with murder. The Federal and state governments and institutions routinely offer up some sacrificial lamb after a huge mistake and all is soon forgotten. Below is a short list of atrocious incidents in which little to no punitive action was taken. Do remember them all?
- 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident -- Four USAF commanders were relieved of their commands. That's right nuclear weapons went missing, and some commanders lost their commands. Wow, talk about harsh punishment. No way that will ever happen again.
- The Attacks of September 11, 2001 -- No consequences for anybody in the government. Did anybody even lose their job?
- I-35W Mississippi River Bridge Collapse -- Minnesota bridge collapses without warning. Thirteen dead, more wounded, millions of dollars lost. Accountable? Nobody, of course!
I'm too annoyed to continue, but I'm sure you can add more to the list. It seems the only ones that are held accountable is this society are the 'little' people. If you are a large corporation, government agency, or celebrity you have a free pass. But hey, that's why pencils have erasers. Maybe I'm being too harsh on the poor pilots of Northwest 188. Maybe when they get their licenses back they can fly nuclear weapons transports for the Air Force.
Last Apple Post, I swear
Update: March 18th, 2010. Uninstalled iTunes, reinstalled iTunes, downloaded firmware update. Voilà!
Welcome to the all Apple blog! Seriously, this time it's not my fault. I'm only posting about Apple again because I'm in the middle of helping my niece troubleshoot the installation of her new iPod Nano. I can't help it if everybody and their niece buys iPods!
For those who don't know, I am the Southeast Regional Helpdesk for my family. If it has anything to do with computers or electronics, I"m the 'goto guy' in my clan. I have GotoMyPC installed on every family member's computer, so I can remotely connect and diagnose whatever problem I'm presented.
This time around, I'm remotely connected to my niece's PC trying to figure out why her iPod Nano connects then immediately disconnects when she plugs it in. So far I've determined that it is not the cord or the USB port. Windows recognizes the iPod as an external drive, but when iTunes (bloated piece of crap) starts up all hell breaks loose. The Mac fans out there will undoubtedly say that the problem lies with the Windows part of the equation, and that I should tell my niece to buy a Mac. She should have to spend $1000 for a MacBook and $150 for an iPod, a total of $1150 to play some mp3s! That ain't gonna happen.
I think the problem is software related. I'm going to try to uninstall that p.o.s. iTunes and reinstall and see what happens. Check back soon for more Apple tips and tricks on BackingIn.com, A.K.A Apple Blog Central!
GOINGFORWARD
Below is a rebuttal to my derision of the act of backing-in by my good friend and backing-iner, Craig Lipset:
Time to defend those who backin, because I AM ONE OF THEM.
So I'll admit I first got into the habit during my 911 days; you always back in an ambulance (both to unload a patient but also to get out in a hurry).But here are the reasons why I do it today:
(1) It's safer
I just pulled up to a spot. I know what's around me. I know if there are kids or old ladies shuffling near the street. I know if there are cars behind me. Now is the time to go backwards, because there are fewer things that are going to jump out and surprise me.
I can back out later, but after loading the kids in the car and then getting in and starting it up, I don't know if that old lady has started shuffling or those kids started playing. Yes, obviously I am looking as a back up. But I don't like surprises.(2) It's the SUVs
If you are parked in those that are perpendicular to the street (not the parallel ones) and you are in head first, good luck backing out and seeing what's coming if you are parked next to an SUV. And when are you not parked next to an SUV? If you are backed in, now you can see what's coming. And you won't be that dufus that needs to back out at 0.001 mph to avoid getting creamed before you can see around the SUV.(3) I just want to go home
Call it getting the "hard part" done first, or the "time consuming part". Whatever. But when it's time to go I just want to GO.You should try the joy of just getting in your car in pulling out. Forward. Just going. It's very liberating! Declare this your week of GOINGFORWARD(.com).
Another Damn Apple Post?
When I started Backingin.com last December, I had no intention of creating an Apple blog (pro or con), but after a couple of months, "Apple" is the largest tag in the 'tag cloud'. As I stated in my first post, Backingin.com will become what it wants to become, and lately my thoughts are dominated by technology. So, staying with the tech theme, I read with interest today that Apple is suing HTC for patent infringement. HTC is one of the largest manufacturers of cellphones and the maker of the Google Nexus One smartphone. Apple is claiming that HTC violated 20 iPhone patents.
There seems to be three dogs in this fight. One one side, there are those who think it is long overdue that Apple started defending themselves against intellectual property theft. On the other side is a group that believes Apple is acting like the new Microsoft by using the courts to try to intimidate any real competition to the iPhone. Then there are those who believe that all technology companies have lost their minds and sold their souls by using patents as weapons. Place me firmly in the third camp.
The patent battles have become ridiculous. Apple and Nokia have been trading barbs over who infringed on who's patents for the past few months. According to an article on CNet's News.com, Nokia claims that Apple infringed on seven Nokia patents "in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computers." I don't know who is right and who is wrong is this case, and I believe that patents are necessary to protect your company's technology, but the current state of patent litigation mania will only hurt one party: the consumer.
