A headache is one of the most common health complaints, characterized by pain or discomfort in the head, scalp, or neck region. It may vary from mild to severe. There are more than 100 types of headaches. Among them, the most common types are migraine, tension headache, sinus headache, and cluster headache. A person may feel a headache in only one part of the head or in more than one region. The various regions include the frontal (forehead), temples (sides of the head), vertex (top of the head), and occiput (back of the head). In some cases, the pain starts from a particular area of the head and then reaches another area.
Homeopathy has a huge scope to treat cases of headache. Both types of headaches, recent and chronic ones, can be treated wonderfully and naturally with homeopathic medicines. Homeopathic medicines not only provide relief in acute cases of headaches but also get to the root cause for complete cure. Along with the headache, any accompanying symptoms like nausea, vomiting, flashes of light in front of the eyes, nasal discharge, nasal congestion, and watery eyes are well managed with these medicines. In conventional treatment, usually painkillers are prescribed for relief from headaches. These medicines offer temporary relief. They can be habit-forming and also carry the risk of side effects.
Homeopathy treats different headaches differently
Homeopathy is highly recommended to treat different types of headaches. With the regular use of homeopathic medicines, the intensity and frequency of recurrence gradually decline. Homeopathy is recommended only when there is no serious cause behind the headache. Therefore, it should be kept in mind that in cases of serious causes (like very high blood pressure, meningitis, ruptured aneurysm), immediate help should be sought from the conventional mode.
Individualized Medication
Homeopathic medicines are always prescribed keeping the individual in mind. Many factors are kept in mind to finalize the homeopathic prescription. These mainly include the side of the headache, the location of the headache (like side, back, top or front of head), at what time it occurs, the worsening and relieving factors, the accompanying symptoms, and also various other causes behind the headache. Such individualized homeopathic treatment tends to bring about faster recovery in such cases.
Safe, non-habit-forming medicine
Homeopathic medicines for treating headaches are of natural origin and hence are very safe to use. They have no side effects at all, even after long-term use.
Top 11 Homeopathic Medicines for Headaches
The top 11 well-known homeopathic remedies for managing headache are Belladonna, Glonoinum, Natrum Muriaticum, Iris Versicolor, Sanguinaria Canadensis, Spigelia Anthelmintica, Kalium Phosphoricum, Kali Bichromicum, Epiphegus, Gelsemium Sempervirens and Nux Vomica.
1. Belladonna – Top-Ranked Medicine for Headaches
Belladonna is a top medicine for headaches. It is a natural medicine prepared from a plant named ‘Deadly Nightshade’ of the natural order Solanaceae. One can use this medicine if the headache is throbbing or pulsating. Fullness in the head may also be felt. Pain comes suddenly and also ceases suddenly. Pain is mostly marked on the sides of the head (temporal region). Along with headache, there is redness of the eyes and face. A headache triggered by light is also an indication to use Belladonna. Besides, a headache that is triggered by noise or exposure to cold air is also treated with the help of this medicine. Belladonna is also administered by applying pressure on the head, tight bandaging or wrapping up the head, which relieves pain.
When to use Belladonna?
It should be administered if there is a throbbing or pulsating headache, mostly marked on the sides of the head, usually triggered by bright light, noise and cold air exposure.
How to use Belladonna?
It works well in both low and high potencies. Initially, it is best administered in 30C potency two to three times daily.
2. Glonoinum – For Congestive Headaches Triggered From Sun Exposure
Glonoinum is a highly effective medicine for headaches. Glonoinum is a top homeopathic medicine for headaches due to sun exposure. Its use is highly recommended for headaches in summers. It is mostly helpful in case of a headache that is congestive in nature. One has a sensation as if all the blood in the body has surged to the head, and there is extreme congestion. There is also a constriction in the vessels of the head. A throbbing, bursting sensation is felt in the head. The person feels every pulsation in the head. Extreme fullness is felt with a feeling as if the head would burst. Heat is felt in the head, accompanied by severe pain in the forehead and throbbing in the temples. Vertigo may arise along with flashes of heat on the face, head, and throbbing headache. The face appears red, flushed with heat. A headache may aggravate from motion or jarring. In most such cases, where Glonoinum is the standard prescription, the headache is relieved by sleep.
When to use Glonoinum?
Its use is highly recommended for a congestive headache with a bursting sensation in the head triggered by sun exposure.
How to use Glonoinum?
Both 30C or 200C potency of this medicine give excellent results. In the beginning, two to three doses of this medicine in 30C potency can be used per day.
3. Natrum Muriaticum– For sun-triggered menstrual headaches
Natrum Mur is the next most prescribed medicine for treating headaches. Natrum Mur is a medicine with great benefits for headaches among women during the menstrual cycle. The woman needing this remedy has a headache immediately before/after menses or during menses. It is also a suitable medicine for headaches due to sun exposure. There is a constant headache from sunrise to sunset. The nature of the headache is throbbing, and usually, there is heat felt in the head. In some cases, there is a sensation as if many little hammers are knocking inside the head. The headache is most noticeable in the forehead. Due to this, there is strain in the eye caused by reading and this is another indication to use this medicine. Natrum Mur is also administered for headache if the eyes are profusely watery or there is disturbed vision. A headache that begins with blindness or zig-zag flashes, like lightning in the eyes, is another characteristic symptom to use this medicine.
When to use Natrum Muriaticum?
This medicine is administered to manage headaches among women and it gets worse around the menstrual cycle. It is also recommended to manage headaches from exposure to the sun and also for a constant headache from sunrise to sunset.
How to use Natrum Muriaticum?
Its use is preferred in 6X potency and can be taken twice or thrice a day.
4. Sanguinaria Canadensis – For Right-Sided Headaches
Sanguinaria Canadensis is a prominent medicine for headaches on the right side. This medicine is prepared from a plant commonly named ‘bloodroot’ of the natural order Papaveraceae. Pain that begins from the back of the head and then ascends up and sits over the right eye is the characteristic feature of using this medicine. Sleeping or lying quietly in a dark room relieves the pain in most cases who needs this remedy. Headaches that arise from fasting are also treated well with this medicine.
When to use Sanguinaria Canadensis?
The key indication to use this medicine is a pain that begins from the back of the head, radiating upwards and sits over the right eye.
How to use Sanguinaria Canadensis?
It works wonderfully in 30C potency that can be administered once or twice a day.
5. Spigelia Anthelmintica – For Left-Sided Headaches
Spigelia Anthelmintica is prepared from a plant named ‘Pinkroot’ of the family Loganiaceous. It is a useful medicine for left-sided headaches. Headache that can be located over the left side of the temporal region, forehead, and eyes are indicative symptoms of this medicine. Most people who need this remedy have pain that begins at the back of the head, extends up and settles over the left eye. The nature of pain is violent, throbbing and pulsating. Stooping may worsen headaches in some cases. Pain in the eyeballs may accompany the above symptoms that are seen to be aggravated by eye movement.
When to use Spigelia Anthelmintica?
The characteristic symptoms of using this medicine are a pain in the back of the head that extends upwards and finally settles over the left eye.
How to use Spigelia Anthelmintica?
It is best to initiate it in 30C potency that can be administered once or twice a day.
6. Iris Versicolor – For Headaches Accompanied by Nausea and Vomiting
Iris Versicolor is prepared from a plant commonly named ‘Blue Flag’ of the family Iridaceae. It is an excellent medicine for headaches accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Vomiting is bitter and sour in nature. A burning sensation in the gastric tract is also felt. The headache may be dull, shooting, and throbbing in nature, especially when the right temple is affected. Other symptoms that may appear include blurring of vision before headache, vertigo and constriction in the scalp.
When to use Iris Versicolor?
It is prescribed when headache occurs along with accompanying nausea and vomiting.
How to use Iris Versicolor?
It can be administered in 30C potency once or twice a day.
7. Kali Phosphoricum – For Tension/Stress Headaches
Kali Phosphoricum is a very useful medicine for tension/stress headaches. To use Kali Phos, the symptoms to look for include nervous headache, a sensation of weight in the back of the head, and weakness. There is pain across the forehead and in both temples. The sensation of a band around the forehead just above the eyes is frequently felt. Sensitivity to noise also attends the headache. There is marked tiredness along with the headache. Stress headache triggered by anxiety, stress and emotional disturbance is a key pointer to use this medicine. The headache gets better with even slight motion. The individuals who need this medicine are anxious, sad and full of worries. Kali Phos is also well-indicated for a headache that results from mental exertion as among students.
When to use Kali Phos?
This medicine proves effective in cases of headache due to stress, tension and headache arising due to mental exertion, like too much time spent on studies.
How to use Kali Phos?
It is mostly used in 6X potency. Kali Phos 6X can be taken three to four times a day as per the intensity of the symptoms.
8. Kali Bichromicum – For Sinus Headaches
Kali Bichromicum is a very effective medicine for treating sinus headaches. The person who needs this medicine has pain in the forehead above the eyes, with blocked nostrils. The pain may be dull or throbbing in nature. The frontal sinus feels congested. Another characteristic feature is mucus dripping in the throat from the posterior nares. In some cases, vertigo, shooting pain at the root of the nose and thick yellowish-greenish discharge from the nose also appear.
When to use Kali Bichromicum?
This medicine is the best solution for headaches from sinus inflammation with pain marked in the forehead above the eyes.
How to use Kali Bichromicum?
To start with, one can take this medicine in 30C power twice or thrice a day.
9. Epiphegus – For Headaches from Exertion
Epiphegus is a wonderful medicine for headaches due to exertion, mental/physical exhaustion. Epiphegus is prepared from a plant named ‘beech drop’ of the family Orobanchaceae. Pain is usually felt on the sides of the head (temporal region). The pain is pressing in nature. The pain may radiate to the back of the head. A unique accompanying feature is the increased saliva with constant spitting and headaches.
When to use Epiphegus?
It is suitable for cases of headache resulting from exertion, either physical or mental.
How to use Epiphegus?
It is advised to use Epiphegus 30C once or twice a day.
10. Gelsemium Sempervirens – For Dull, Heavy, Occipital Headaches
Gelsemium is administered if there is a dull, heavy, and congestive headache that has its onset in the occiput and spreads over the head, often accompanied by marked heaviness of the eyelids and a desire to lie down quietly. The pain is pressing or as if a band has been tied around the head. There is also a bruise-like feeling, and is commonly associated with vertigo, blurred vision, and muscular weakness. The person feels drowsy, sluggish, and trembling, with a headache often triggered by emotional excitement, anticipation, fright, or sun exposure. One usually finds relief from rest by pressing the head and by elevating the head.
When to use Gelsemium Sempervirens?
Gelsemium works wonders for dull, heavy occipital headaches with drooping eyelids, weakness, and marked drowsiness.
How to use Gelsemium Sempervirens?
It can be used in lower potency 30C once or twice a day.
11. Nux Vomica- for Headache from Strain and Stimulants
Nux Vomica is administered for headaches arising from mental strain, sedentary habits, late nights, rich food, alcohol, or excessive coffee. The headache is often frontal or occipital, with a pressing, bursting, or stitching pain felt, as if a nail were driven into the head. The person is extremely irritable, sensitive to noise, light, and odors, and feels worse in the morning, especially after disturbed sleep or overindulgence. The pain may be associated with gastric disturbances, constipation, or a feeling of hangover, and is typically relieved by rest, warmth, and silence.
When to use Nux vomica?
Nux Vomica works well when a headache follows mental strain, late nights, overeating, alcohol, or excessive coffee.
How to use Nux Vomica?
It can be initiated with a lower potency 30C once a day. Higher potency such as 200C, 1M, can be administered only under the guidance of a qualified homoeopath.
Causes of Headaches
The headaches may arise either from an underlying medical condition or without an underlying medical condition. Depending upon the cause, headaches are classified into primary and secondary headaches.
1. Primary headaches
Primary headaches arise from overactivity of structures in the head that are sensitive to pain. Changes in chemical activity in the brain also play a role in primary headaches. Primary headaches do not relate to any separate underlying medical condition. The following are some of the common types of primary headaches:
1. Tension/stress headache
2. Migraine
3. Cluster headache
2. Secondary headaches
Secondary headaches are the ones that arise from an underlying medical condition. Secondary headaches are often a symptom of a disease. The reasons for secondary headaches include
1. Sinusitis/sinus infection
2. High blood pressure
3. Cervicogenic headache (headaches caused by problems with the nerves, bones, or muscles in the cervical spine (neck).
4. Gastrointestinal disorders
5. Dental complaints
6. Temporal arteritis
7. Post-traumatic (head injury)
8. Influenza
9. Alcohol-induced hangover
10. Meningitis, encephalitis
Triggers of Headaches
1. Stress and Emotional Factors:Emotional stress, anxiety, work pressure, or suppressed anger can trigger headaches. Strong emotions or grief may also trigger an attack.
2. Sleep Disturbances:Lack of sleep, oversleeping, or irregular sleep patterns can lead to headaches. Poor sleep quality often makes headaches worse.
3. Diet and Eating Habits:Skipping meals, fasting, or dehydration can trigger headaches. Excessive caffeine, sudden caffeine withdrawal, alcohol, and certain foods like chocolate, cheese, and processed meats are some of the common triggers.
4. Hormonal Changes:Hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, or menopause can set off headaches, especially migraines.
5. Environmental Factors:Exposure to bright sunlight, loud noise, strong odors (perfumes, smoke, chemicals), weather changes, or high altitude can trigger headaches.
6. Physical Factors:Poor posture, neck or shoulder strain, prolonged screen time, and uncorrected vision problems can lead to tension-type headaches.
7. Medical and Physiological Conditions: Fever, infections, high blood pressure (particularly severe cases), sinus congestion, and allergies can all cause headaches. Overuse of painkillers or certain medications may also trigger headaches.
8. Lifestyle Factors: Long working or study hours without breaks, fatigue, travel, jet lag, or excessive screen exposure can contribute to headaches.
Signs and Symptoms of Headaches
Main symptoms related to headaches are:
1. Nature of pain: Aching pain, tight, band-like pressure, throbbing or pulsating, sharp or stabbing type of pain.
2. Location of Pain: It can be on the forehead, occiput, temples, around the eyes or can be one-sided.
3. Intensity of Pain: It can be mild, moderate or severe.
4. Associated symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light or sound, blurred vision, dizziness, and neck stiffness.
Common Types of Headaches
1.Migraine
A migraine refers to a headache that causes throbbing or pulsating pain, usually on one side of the head. The pain is intense and is often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The cause of migraine is not clearly known. However, genetics and environmental factors tend to play a role in it. There are many well-known triggers for migraine attacks. The major ones include stress, bright lights, noises, food (like fatty food, chocolates, caffeinated drinks, marinated food, cheese, fermented food), smoking, alcohol intake, MSG (monosodium glutamate), sun exposure, loss of sleep, strong odors, and tiredness. In addition to these hormonal fluctuations, menses, menopause or pregnancy may also trigger a migraine.
The symptoms of migraine include a one-sided headache. The major accompanying symptoms include nausea, vomiting, aversion to light, noise, and talking. Some people experience a few symptoms before the migraine attack that help them foresee that a migraine attack is about to come (aura). These symptoms include – seeing flashes of light, zig-zag flashes, dim vision, blurring of vision, numbness/tingling/pin-prick sensation in the arms or around the mouth.
2. Cluster Headache
Cluster headache is a severe form of headache in which there is pain around one eye (periorbital headache). The pain comes in clusters during which one or more than one episode of headache is triggered. Such a headache mostly set off at precisely the same hour each day. The duration of each episode of headache ranges from 15 minutes to 3 hours. The headache lasts for weeks or months. This is followed by a period of remission during which there is no sign of headache at all. The remission period varies from months to years. The reason behind a cluster headache is yet to be known. A family history of cluster headache puts a person at risk.
Symptoms of cluster headache include one-sided pain located in or around the eye. This pain may radiate to the head, face, or neck. Watery eyes, swelling and redness of the eyes, nasal congestion and discharge, and drooping of eyelids on the side where the pain is, are a few accompanying symptoms.
3. Tension headache
In tension-triggered headaches, diffused dull pain in the head appears, which is described as a tight band-like feeling around the head. The reason behind the tension headache is not well known yet. However, contraction of the muscles in the head, scalp, and neck is thought to play a role in such kind of headaches. There are certain triggers that can lead to muscle contraction and give rise to tension headaches. A few trigger factors include stress, anxiety, fatigue, cold, sinus infection, sun exposure, poor posture while sleeping/sitting, and eyestrain. Symptoms of a tension headache include dull, aching pain in the whole head with a tight band-like sensation around the head. Besides, pain in the neck and shoulders may be an accompanying factor. Muscles in the neck, scalp, and shoulders also feel tightened. Head pain gets worse as the day passes. Tiredness usually accompanies the above symptoms.
4. Sinus headache
Sinus headaches appear from the congestion of the paranasal sinus. It is located behind your eyes, nose, cheeks, and forehead. Sinus headaches most commonly appear when sinus becomes inflamed from allergies or from infection. In sinus headache, a constant pain/pressure in the forehead or on the bridge of your nose is felt. The pain usually gets worse when one moves the head or when one suddenly coughs or leans forward. A few symptoms tend to surface, which include a runny nose or green/yellow nasal discharge, a stuffy nose, decreased sense of smell, facial swelling, pressure in the ears, and a feverish feeling.
How serious are headaches?
Most cases of headaches are mild and usually are not a reason for concern. They tend to resolve with time. However, in some cases, the reason behind the headache may be a serious condition like meningitis, critically high blood pressure, ruptured aneurysm, or brain tumor. So every case of headache should be thoroughly analysed to rule out any serious condition in the very beginning.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is a headache a symptom or a disease?
A headache can be both. It is a symptom when caused by another condition (fever, sinusitis, hypertension). It is also a disease when it occurs as a primary disorder, like migraine or tension-type headache.
2. Is every headache a sign of a problem in the brain?
No. Most headaches are not related to brain disease. They are often due to muscle tension, stress, or vascular changes.
3. Is a headache a neurological disorder?
No. Not all headaches are neurological. Some headaches (like migraine) are considered neurological disorders.
4. Can a headache exist without any physical abnormality?
Yes. Many primary headaches show normal scans and tests, but are still real and distressing.
5. Is headache hereditary?
Some primary headaches, especially migraine, often run in families.
6. Does suppressing a headache repeatedly make it worse?
Overuse of painkillers can lead to medication-overuse headache, making the condition chronic.
7. Can lifestyle correction alone cure a headache?
In mild cases, yes. Regular sleep, good water intake, stress control, and posture correction can significantly reduce frequency.
8. Do all headaches require medical tests?
No. Most common headaches (like tension headache or migraine) do not require tests. Diagnosis is usually made based on history and symptoms.
9. Can homeopathy treat chronic headaches?
Yes. Homoeopathy aims to treat the root cause and individual susceptibility, especially in recurrent or chronic headaches like migraine and tension headaches.
10. Can homeopathy reduce the frequency of attacks?
Yes. With homeopathic medicines, frequency and intensity often reduce over time.