Graedons' Pharmacy | Iced cappuccino heads off headache
Q: I have suffered for years from almost daily headaches, some of them migraines. I used to go through a bottle of Excedrin a month.
About four years ago, I drank an iced cappuccino by coincidence while I had a headache. The headache immediately went away.
Ever since, almost daily, when my headache starts I either make or buy and drink an iced cappuccino. I put a tray of ice cubes made from coffee in the blender and cover them with refrigerated liquid coffee and 2 ounces of coffee creamer. I blend this mixture two minutes, and it works 99 percent of the time.
I haven't had to take Excedrin for a headache in years. Why does the iced cappuccino work?
A: There is scientific evidence that consuming a cold drink quickly constricts blood vessels in the roof of the mouth. This can cause "brain freeze," or an ice-cream headache. Many readers report that drinking an icy beverage or eating ice cream can stop a migraine, particularly if they do so as soon as they detect the beginnings of a headache.
Those who do not find this helpful will find other useful remedies in our Guide to Headaches and Migraines. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (70 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons' People's Pharmacy, No. M-98, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our website: peoplespharmacy.com.
Q: After years of poor sleep, I now rub lavender-scented baby lotion and a drop of lavender essential oil on my forearms before bed. I finally get a good night's sleep without medications.
A: Lavender oil derived from the Mediterranean plants Lavandula angustifolia or Lavandula stoechas has had a
reputation as a sedative or calming treatment ever since medieval times (Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol. 2013, Article ID 681304).
A review of the research showed an improvement in sleep quality among people exposed to the odor of lavender oil compared with a placebo aroma. A study of 60 patients in a coronary ICU also found that those offered lavender oil to inhale slept better and were less anxious than those on usual care (Nursing in Critical Care online, July 27, 2015).
Another reader has found a solution similar to yours: "I put lavender essential oil in baking soda and add that to my bathwater along with Epsom salts. I rub lavender oil on an acupuncture point near my knee at night, and the last several nights I have slept like a baby. This is most welcome because sleep has always been a struggle for me."
In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Email them via tPeoplesPharmacy.com. Their newest book is "Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them."
This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Graedons' Pharmacy | Iced cappuccino heads off headache ."