UHAM083

66 ^ UNDERSTANDING HEADACHES AND M I G RAI N ES acupuncture have been shown to work for some people, but do not necessarily give permanent relief.

Feverfew and other herbs and plants

Feverfew (Tanacetum partherńum) is a natural remedy that some people have used to relieve their migraines. It is a member of the sunflower family, and its leaves were used by the Ancient Greeks not only as a remedy for migraine, but also as an anti-inflammatory drug for conditions such as arthritis. It works against the action of serotonin, a substance which, as mentioned earlier, is involved in migraine. It is generally safe for most people to take, although it can create stornach upset. Migraines and joint pains can occur if people stop taking it - a type of withdrawal effect. Some research suggests that it can be effective, although there is still ąuite a debate as to its usefulness. As with most complementary medicines, it works for some people. It does not matter why it works, as long as it does and provided that it will not injure health. Therefore, you might try it for your headaches, but be aware that you should not stop taking it suddenly, but in stages, otherwise the withdrawal effects above might occur.

There are other herbs and plant extracts that can help your headache or migraine. If you are interested in these, it is best to do some reading, but remember that you could be swamped with advice from websites, books and therapists. In the end, you should make your own choice as to what you try, preferably in consultation with your doctor, sińce the Chemicals in some plants can be harmful if taken when you have high blood pressure, or are pregnant, or are taking certain other drugs, and so on. To give you an idea of how big a market there is for herbal remedies for headaches and migraine, here is a list of a smali fraction of the plants that some people claim will make a difference: cayenne pepper, meadowsweet, pepper-mint, rosemary, kava, neem, peony, marijuana, cotton, echinacea, foxglove, primrose, basil, passion flower, sagę, wintergreen, marjoram, betony, tansy and thyme.

One morę word of advice: do not try morę than one possible remedy at the same time. When scientists (whether psychologists or chemists or doctors) want to investigate the effects of a drug or some other treatment, they do things systematically. They test out one remedy at a time, giving a period of ‘recovery’ between each. If you try a number of possible remedies at the same time, you will never know which one is giving the desired effect.