Aspirin vs. Natural Remedy for Headaches

Posted by Dr. Della Parker     on October 13, 2017

Say your fire alarm goes off in the middle of the night while you’re sleeping. The alarm is doing its job letting you know there is smoke and possibly fire in your home. In this scenario, it might seem silly to remove the battery and go back to sleep. There’s smoke in your house!

When you have a headache it is an alarm that holistically there is something unbalanced about your health. Taking aspirin can be similar to removing the battery—but not doing something about the fire in your home.

DIFFERENT TYPES of HEADACHES

Another thing to consider is there are different types of headaches and different causes. Let’s list some of the common types of headaches:

• Tension Headache: Usually caused by neck and muscle pain due to muscle stiffness.
• Cluster Headache: A/K/A an ice-pick behind the eyeballs headache. These usually happen in a series and can mysteriously disappear.
• Sinus Headache: This is kind of a misnomer as these feel like they are coming from the sinuses, but can also be caused by pressure pushing forward.
• Head Injury: These are from an obvious injury to the head.

DIFFERENT CAUSES of HEADACHES

• Abnormal blood levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin
• Medicines for high blood pressure, angina, and arthritis
• Sensitivity to certain foods and alcohol; missing meals; too much sun; sleeping too little or too much
• Hormones and menstruation
• Certain odors, such as perfume or cigarette smoke
• Stress

NUTRITION’S ROLE IN HEADACHE PREVENTION

Again, headaches are alarm systems that something is not quite right. Most of those issues can be resolved with proper Holistic Medicine (finding the cause of the problem). As we noted already there are multiple reasons why we get headaches, and many of them can be caused by diet and nutrition; food allergies, sensitivity to caffeine, lack of fatty acids, lack of magnesium, vitamin deficiencies and even certain Omega-3 oils.

CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE vs HOLISTIC MEDICINE

The aspirin is one example of how conventional medicine addresses the symptom and not necessarily the cause. The doctor using holistic medicine will understand that there can be many causes of a headache and will investigate the cause and create a plan for helping restore your health holistically.

Call Dr. Della Parker, a Portland naturopathic doctor, today and get an evaluation for your headaches or anything else that doesn’t feel quite right. Fatigue? Digestion? Diet? Dr. Della Parker can help. Call us at 503.344.6631.