When used as a rub, an herbal tincture of arnica or peppermint oil can be effective in resolving a headache. Rub arnica tincture into the temple or forehead area, or peppermint oil into the temple area. Be very careful to keep tinctures away from your child's eyes and do not use them on broken skin.
Tiger Balm liniment works very well for tension headaches. Rub the ointment into the temple area.
Homeopathy
For tension headaches, choose the homeopathic remedy most suited to your child's symptoms and administer it as follows: Give your child one dose of the remedy. Wait twenty minutes. If there is no relief after twenty minutes, give a second dose and wait another twenty minutes. If your child still feels no relief, wait thirty minutes and select another remedy that suits your child's symptoms and temperament.
- Bryonia 30x or 9c is recommended for a child who has a headache in combination with constipation and much eye pain.
- Ferrum phosphoricum 12x or 5c is for the child whose face may be pale and cold, or red and flushed, and generally alternates between the two. His hands and feet are cold. This child may get a headache when he is fatigued.
- Gelsemium 12x or 6c is useful for the child who describes visual disturbances, such as blurring, and for the type of tension headache that is associated with performance anxiety and commonly occurs before a test, school play, or similar event.
- Give Natrum muriaticum 30x or 9c to a child who develops a headache after any kind of intense mental work, such as a school project or homework that has a grade riding on it. The Natrum muriaticum child is very ambitious, hard on himself, and eager to achieve. This child also has a craving for salt.
If your child has a migraine, choose one of the following and give him one dose, four times a day, for up to two days:
- Iris 30x or 9c is recommended for the child who complains of impaired or blurred vision. This child may also be vomiting and the pain may recur periodically-he may have a headache every Sunday, for example.
- Use Lachesis 30x or 9c if the pain begins or is worse on the left side of the head.
- If your child's migraine begins or is worse on the right side of the head, choose Lycopodium 30x or 9c.
- Silica 30x or 9c is for a migraine that starts at the base of the back of the head and travels into one eye.
Whichever remedy you choose, if you are using any form of peppermint or Tiger Balm in addition to one of the homeopathic remedies recommended here, you should give your child homeopathic remedies at least half an hour before or after. Otherwise, the strong odors of these herbal preparations may interfere with the action of the remedy.
If headaches are chronic, and an underlying illness has been ruled out, it may be helpful to consult a homeopathic physician for a constitutional remedy.
Acupressure
For the locations of acupressure points on a child's body, see ADMINISTERING AN ACUPRESSURE TREATMENT.