Tension headache - what can I do? Home alone with two kids.?

Three years ago I was hit by a car, me on a bike, broke my colar bone among other things. Now, I get occassional tension headaches. I was prescribed Vicodin for them, however I am home alone with my toddler and infant. I know it's not a migraine because I've had those, too. I took a shower to try to relax, but still have the headache and it's made me nauseaus.

Do you know any good "treatments" that I can do alone that won't impair my cognitive ability?
(My husband is in Iraq - I used to drink a glass of red wine and have him rub my back and shoulders, that usually did it.) Please note, I can't afford to go out and pay for a massage, and I am still nursing.

I too get tension headaches. Used to be in a similar situation, my husband is now retired military. When I would be home with the 2 kids by myself and one struck, the quickest relief I could get would be to take over the counter extra strength medication with COFFEE. The cafeine helps expedite the pain relief. I realize this isn't great if you are nursing, but if you could pump a bottle or two first that might help. It also used to help if I could do some tension/relaxation exercises. Try making a fist and holding the fist real tight for 30 to 45 seconds. Then let it start to relax very slowly. Do it 3 or 4 times, and then move to the arms, make them tense, hold, slowly release, then the shoulders, sort of shrug them and make them tense and hold hold hold, and then slowly relax them. You can also do this with all the muscles in your face. It also helps to use either a cool or hot compress on the eyes and temples. Temperature is a personal choice. When the compress is in place, slowly massage your temples. If you can do this in a quiet, dark place it helps. If none of this helps, maybe someone from your family or a close friend could come and massage the neck and shoulders very gently for you. I wish I could be of more assistance, I know what your going thru, and just having your husband away is stress enough, add 2 kids and a tension headache, and you are miserable. Good luck

Army insurance doesn't pay for Chiropractors; I saw one with my previous health insurance, which is why this hasn't been a problem before. This is my first tension headache in six months - not concerned about frequency. And I drink a lot of water - I'm a nursing mom, it's habit! Report It

I am almost relieved to hear that your insurance doesn't pay for chiropractors. Believe it or not, I am sitting here at home recovering from a broken neck that I received from a chiropractor. I was seeing him for tension/migraine headaches. Report It

deep breathing... fill your lungs slowly but completely thru nose, hold it 5 secs... release slowly ot mouth. repeat. this is also good for the heart...

also GENTLY massage your own temples and neck tendons... it will help.

As I found out from my Internal Medicine Dr., tension headaches are another form of migraine headaches. I recently had my deviated septum corrected. That helped, but if you have a sinus infection like I recently found out, the headaches will keep coming until you get rid of the infection. Also, if you suffer from allergies, stay on the allergy nose sprays and meds to avoid tension headaches. Good luck!

do you have medical insurance? Most insurance companies recognize the benefits of chirporactic and massage now and cover those things. Check into this and get lined up with a good chiropractor- make sure he is doing healing therapy and not just temporary relief. Sometimes insurance will pay for massage therapy if referred by a chiropractor or general practitioner. Just ask your doctor to prescribe it.

in the meantime, cayenne pepper is a good natural remedy for pain, put some in some grape juice and you will barely taste it.
Epsom salt baths are good, take one or two a week, they are relaxing, will help with pain and help you get essential magnesium into your body

Definitely echo the use of caffeine; in fact Excedrin for tension headaches is really just Advil with caffeine. Although the only sure-fire fix for me is a good night's sleep, I have found a couple of things help.

1) When I feel a tension headache coming on, I immediately try to drop my shoulders. Most tension headaches stem from tension in the trapezius (the big diamond shaped muscle between your shoulder blades). If you can lengthen your neck and remind yourself not to tense up it may help offset the pain.

2) I take a couple (sometimes 4) Advil and wash it down with a little caffeine. A cup of tea or half of a can of coke should not affect your milk if you can time it right but I'm no expert so you may want to check on that.

3) I do a little yoga stretch where I get down on my knees and stretch my arms out in front of me. Then I curve my hips away from me as I curve my chest towards the ground while I look up. It gives a wonderful rush of relief of muscle tension in the upper back that often makes the difference.

4) Sometimes I use one of those scalp massager things. They sell them for $10ish at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It鈥檚 basically a handle with a bunch of wires that you shape to fit around your head. It feels like someone is playing gently with your hair and for me alleviates a lot of headache pain.

5) If medicine is possible (again, check with a doctor before nursing), I will sometimes take a generic form of midrine. It is a migraine medicine but it works wonders on tension headaches. I am a teacher and needed something after a car accident that wouldn't turn me loopy. I can take 2 midrin and the pain disappears. It鈥檚 a wondrous drug that doesn't leave you altered.

6) If you can afford a trip to the Sharper Image, buy one of those back massagers (try to get the kind that really kneads into your back, not just vibrates).

7) By all means, talk to your doctor b/c these probably won't go away with time..only get worse. Depending on your insurance you can find a lot of relief through chiropractic adjustment, physical therapy, or massage.

Best of luck to you, and remember the best thing to relieve tension headaches is to avoid the tension (which I know is SO easy to do :)