What Can You Do to Relieve Pregnancy Headaches?
Pregnancy is hard enough without adding an illness or other painful disorder into the mix.
When a headache develops during pregnancy you have fewer treatment options than usual because many relief methods may be dangerous to the unborn baby.
So what can you do to relieve your painful migraine headache or tension headache when you can't resort to pain pills or herbal remedies? Your first step is to determine what type of headache you have.
Knowing the type of headache is important if you want to give yourself the best chance for relief.
The most commonly appearing headaches in pregnant women are tension, migraine, and hormonal.
Hormonal headaches, also known as menstrual migraines, are migraine headaches with hormone imbalances as their cause.
So in actuality, the two most common types of headaches during pregnancy are tension-type and migraine, as hormonal headaches can be grouped into the migraine category.
These two headache types are normally easy to tell apart, but due to several similar symptoms they can often be mistaken for each other.
Tension headaches are usually felt around the entire head, from the back to the front.
They are normally a "pressure-type" dull ache where it feels as if the head has a large band placed around it and it is being squeezed tightly.
Migraines are classically different in that they will usually be felt as a throbbing and pulsating headache that is felt only on one side of the head.
However, one-third of the time they will be felt on both sides.
Most of the time these two headaches can be diagnosed correctly due to the pounding or no pounding, one side or two side symptoms, but not always.
If you are unsure as to which type of headache you're experiencing there are several treatment methods that can be used that are safe and effective for both types during pregnancy.
The fastest and easiest approach for treating either type of headache is through tension reduction.
Anything you can do to calm down and relax will help relieve tension which can help reduce or stop the headache pain.
Simply lying down in a dark quiet room can be all it takes to quell the pain.
Also, hopping into a relaxing warm tub is another good way to relax.
Another safe way to relieve headache pain during pregnancy is to gently massage painful areas.
It is usually most helpful to massage the temples in a gentle circular motion and also any other tender facial or scalp areas.
Additionally, squeezing the pad of flesh located between the thumb and first finger for 30 to 60 seconds, and then repeating this action on the other hand, can often bring about fast relief.
Meditation or self-hypnosis are two other fine approaches.
If you can get your mind off the pain and onto something else that is relaxing and enjoyable it is often beneficial for relieving pain.
There are many things that a pregnant woman can do to relieve pain when painkillers and herbal remedies are not an option.
When a headache develops during pregnancy you have fewer treatment options than usual because many relief methods may be dangerous to the unborn baby.
So what can you do to relieve your painful migraine headache or tension headache when you can't resort to pain pills or herbal remedies? Your first step is to determine what type of headache you have.
Knowing the type of headache is important if you want to give yourself the best chance for relief.
The most commonly appearing headaches in pregnant women are tension, migraine, and hormonal.
Hormonal headaches, also known as menstrual migraines, are migraine headaches with hormone imbalances as their cause.
So in actuality, the two most common types of headaches during pregnancy are tension-type and migraine, as hormonal headaches can be grouped into the migraine category.
These two headache types are normally easy to tell apart, but due to several similar symptoms they can often be mistaken for each other.
Tension headaches are usually felt around the entire head, from the back to the front.
They are normally a "pressure-type" dull ache where it feels as if the head has a large band placed around it and it is being squeezed tightly.
Migraines are classically different in that they will usually be felt as a throbbing and pulsating headache that is felt only on one side of the head.
However, one-third of the time they will be felt on both sides.
Most of the time these two headaches can be diagnosed correctly due to the pounding or no pounding, one side or two side symptoms, but not always.
If you are unsure as to which type of headache you're experiencing there are several treatment methods that can be used that are safe and effective for both types during pregnancy.
The fastest and easiest approach for treating either type of headache is through tension reduction.
Anything you can do to calm down and relax will help relieve tension which can help reduce or stop the headache pain.
Simply lying down in a dark quiet room can be all it takes to quell the pain.
Also, hopping into a relaxing warm tub is another good way to relax.
Another safe way to relieve headache pain during pregnancy is to gently massage painful areas.
It is usually most helpful to massage the temples in a gentle circular motion and also any other tender facial or scalp areas.
Additionally, squeezing the pad of flesh located between the thumb and first finger for 30 to 60 seconds, and then repeating this action on the other hand, can often bring about fast relief.
Meditation or self-hypnosis are two other fine approaches.
If you can get your mind off the pain and onto something else that is relaxing and enjoyable it is often beneficial for relieving pain.
There are many things that a pregnant woman can do to relieve pain when painkillers and herbal remedies are not an option.
