With help from books and from health food store personnel, thousands of Americans are successfully treating themselves with homeopathic medicines and far more than ten percent are actually receiving benefit. One reason is that, used in correct amounts, homeopathic remedies are too weak to cause any harm.
In making your personal symptom profile, use only the strongest and clearest headache symptoms. You must then find a medicine with a match for your symptoms.
A homeopathic physician will typically prescribe a dose to be taken about once every two hours. If improvement appears, you stop taking the medicine and do not resume again unless improvement ceases or symptoms become worse. In either case, if there is no improvement after two to three doses, most homeopathic physicians would probably change to another medicine which matches your symptoms as closely as possible.
Among homeopathic medicines most widely prescribed for headache by homeopathic physicians are these (with symptoms as described in standard homeopathic literature):
• Belladonna causes headache symptoms that closely resemble those of migraine or cluster headaches, namely a pounding pain that feels better when sitting and worsens on exertion and that may include a hot and flushed face.
• Bryonia causes headaches with symptoms that resemble a tension headache. A Bryonia headache is worsened by moving about and often extends from the forehead up and over the scalp and down to the neck. A Bryonia headache often leads to irritability and a preference for being alone.
• Gelsemium creates a headache similar to that of classic migraine. It extends from the back of the head over the scalp and down to the forehead. A Gelsemium headache is often worsened by noise, light or motion. The person’s eyes droop, and he or she prefers to rest and be alone.
• Iris creates a headache very similar to that of periodic classic migraine, complete with visual disturbances, and with pain experienced on one side of the head only. Nausea and vomiting are also common.
• Nux Vomica causes a headache similar to that produced by a hangover or by caffeine withdrawal or drugs. The headaches are worst on awakening and gradually improve through the day. Other symptoms include irascibility and irritation. Shaking the head worsens a Nux Vomica headache.
• Pulsatilla creates a vascular type of headache similar to that produced by food allergies or by menstrual migraines. It is a pulsating pain, located either in the forehead or in one temple or eye, and it can lead to nausea and vomiting.
• Spigelia creates a headache similar to that of a cluster with severe throbbing pain around one eye and deep into the socket. The pain is often on the left side of the head, it worsens with motion, and the bead and neck often become stiff. A Spigelia headache often worsens in warm weather and improves in cold weather.
• Sanguinaria creates a migraine-style headache that begins at the back of the neck and reaches up over the scalp to the right eye and temple. The stabbing pain is as intense as in a cluster headache and it frequently provokes nausea and vomiting. Sanguinaria is oftenprescribed for vascular headaches Chat appear regularly at periodic intervals, such as once a week.
We recommend that you consult an experienced herbalist, or a licensed naturopath or homeopathic physician, before trying to treat yourself. But because herbs and homeopathic medicines are seldom dangerous in moderate amounts, risk of harm is slight.
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