Home Remedies for Children's headaches

Though rare, headaches can sometimes be symptoms of a serious problem such as meningitis, a brain tumor or bleeding in the brain, according to Loraine Stern, M.D., associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of When Do I Call the Doctor? She says you should call your doctor if your child's headache:
* Is accompanied by a fever, vomiting, stiff neck, lethargy or confusion.
* Follows a head injury.
* Occurs in the morning, accompanied by nausea.
* Increases in severity over the course of a day or from one day to the next.
* Is suddenly brought on by a sneeze or cough.
* Interferes with school or other activities.
* Is restricted to one side of the head.

Before attempting any of these home remedies, however, read the ''Medical Alert'' above to determine if your child's headache might be the symptom of something more serious.

Turn to a proven painkiller. ''Simple analgesics such as acetaminophen [Children's Tylenol] are perfectly acceptable and effective for children's headaches, just as they are for adults','' says Dr. DiMario. Check the package directions for the correct dosage for your child's age and weight.

Apply a soothing compress. ''Some kids like warm cloths on their heads, others like cold cloths. You just need to experiment,' ' says William Womack, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Child Psychiatry at the University of Washington School of Medicine and codirector of the Stress Management Clinic of Children's Hospital and Medical Center, both in Seattle. ''Keep the compress on for about 30 minutes, rewetting it as necessary,'' he says.

Head for bed. ''Rest seems to be one of the most effective ways to reduce a migraine headache,'' says Dr. DiMario. ''Many school nurses allow kids with headaches to lie down for half an hour. Often that is all that's necessary. They don't necessarily have to go to sleep. Just a half-hour of lying quietly can help.'' If your child is very sensitive to bright light during a migraine episode, you should draw the shades so he can rest in a darkened room, adds Dr. Womack.

Rub away the ache. Like adults, kids with tension headaches can often find relief by reducing stress. ''If your child is stressed out, relaxing massage might help,'' says Alexander Mauskop, M.D., director of the New York Headache Center in New York City and assistant professor of neurology at the State University of New York Health Science Center.

''If the muscles around the scalp or temples are tender, gently rubbing them can be helpful,'' says Dr. DiMario. ''But some kids don't like it because the scalp is too tender to touch.'' If your child says stop, don't insist--but many children do like that soothing touch of a parent's fingertips.

Make meal-skipping a misdemeanor. Make sure your child doesn't skip meals, especially breakfast, which is the most important one, warns Dr. Mauskop. ''Going all day without eating is a good way to get a headache or aggravate one you already have,'' he says.

Watch that egg roll, hold that pizza. By paying attention to what your child eats and when he gets his headaches, you may be able to spot a link. ''In some susceptible children, headaches are triggered by certain things they eat, such as chocolate, peanuts, processed meat and aged cheese,'' says Dr. DiMario. ''Pizza and Chinese food, if they contain monosodium glutamate, can bring on headaches in some children.'' If you think you've uncovered a connection, have your child avoid the suspect food and see what happens.

Curb the caffeine. Like grown-ups deprived of their customary morning coffee, kids can suffer from withdrawal headaches when they don't get their daily ''fix'' of caffeine. ''Caffeine withdrawal headaches are common in children who drink cola and eat a lot of chocolate--both of which contain caffeine,'' says Dr. Mauskop. If your child is susceptible, you may need to strictly limit these items, offering them only as an occasional treat.

Chart those mood swings. Some kids' headaches have emotional rather than food triggers, says Kenneth Covelman, Ph.D., director of psychosocial services for the Pediatric Pain Management Program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and clinical assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, also in Philadelphia. ''By charting not just your child's headaches but also his moods and activities for several days or weeks, you can sometimes see a pattern. For example, headaches may occur just before tests in school, or after arguments,'' says Dr. Covelman.

Have a plan to defuse tensions. ''If you've identified an emotional trigger of your child's headaches,'' says Dr. Covelman, ''help him formulate a plan for dealing with it.'' Your child may feel a lot better if he has more control over situations, he suggests.

Don't rule out random events. If no dietary or emotional triggers emerge after a few weeks of charting your child's headaches, broaden the scope of your search, suggests Loraine Stern, M.D., associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of When Do I Call the Doctor? '' Write down what the weather was like, how much your child slept the night before his headache. . . every possible factor you can think of.

Reserve some time for fun. Many children who suffer from recurring headaches have fallen into the ''all work and no play'' trap, according to Dr. Womack. They need to schedule some fun.

The Main Causes of BRAIN damage are

1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level.
This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.

7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain

Home Remedies for Memory Problems

Natural home remedies

• Choline is used by our brains to make the important chemical acetylcholine, which is required for memory.
At a health food or vitamin store, buy choline chloride or choline hydrochloride¬ not choline bitartrate. (The latter sometimes causes diarrhea.) Taking choline may improve your memory and your ability to learn. You should also notice a keener sense of mental organization.

Dose: Take 500 mg of choline twice a day. (Set your alarm clock so you won't forget to take it.)

• Here's a memory-improving drink-combine half a glass of carrot juice with half a glass of milk, and drink daily.

• Three prunes a day supposedly improve memory. It can also help prevent constipation, and since constipation paralyzes the thinking process, take three prunes a day.

• Daily doses of fresh ginger used in cooking and for tea may heighten memory.

• Add four cloves to a cup of sage tea. Sage and cloves have been said to strengthen memory. Drink a cup every day.

Try This Paraguay Punch

• Yerba mate (pronounced mah-tay) is a form of holly and is the national beverage of Paraguay, where it's grown. One of the many positive effects of the herb, according to South American medical authorities, is that it strengthens one's memory. Drink one cup early in the day. Yerba mate is available at health food stores.

NOTE: Be aware that yerba mate contains caffeine, although less than coffee or regular tea.

• Take 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of room-temperature water before each meal Not only is it said to be an excellent tonic for the memory, but it also curbs the appetite.

• Ah, the healing powers of almonds. Eat six raw almonds every day to help improve your memory.
Eye-Opening Discovery

• Our research led us to a Japanese doctor whose records show that he successfully treated more than 500 patients who were having memory problems. How? By recommending they take eyebright, an herb best known for treating eye disorders... until now.
Add ½ ounce of eyebright and 1 tablespoon of clover honey to 1½ cups of just-boiled water. When it's cool, strain the mixture and put it in a boule. Drink ¾ cup before lunch and ¾ cup before dinner.

• Two mustard seeds, taken as you would take pills, first thing every morning, are said to revive one's memory.
• Eat a handful of sunflower seeds daily. These seeds are beneficial in many ways, one being memory improvement.

• According to a gem therapist, wearing an amethyst helps strengthen one's memory. You just have to remember to wear the amethyst.

Walk This Way

• Walking increases oxygen flow to the brain ...and it's never too late! Researchers experimented on adults between the ages of 60 and 75. The group that walked briskly three days a week, starting with 15 minutes each day and working their way up to 45 minutes a day, had a 15% boost in mental functioning. That 15% could mean an end to the frustration of not remembering things.. .at any age.

• What's the most prevalent color in legal pads? In Post-Its? Notice a pattern forming here? According to color therapy research, yellow most stimulates the brain. Writing on yellow paper may help you better remember whatever it is you've written.

Sex and Chocolate boost brain Power

Sex and Chocolate boost brain Power
Enjoy dark chocolate, have plenty of sex, eat cold meats and fish for a breakfast and you could boost your brain power.

Cognitive psychologist terry Horne and biochemist Simon wootton – who co-authored “Tech Yourself: Training your Brain”—argue that lifestyle choices are crucial for keeping you in tip-tip mental condition.

“Lifestyle can boost your brain power”, Horne said, “What your lifestyle does is help to create the chemical conditions in your brain.”

Horne told Reuters in an interview to mark the books’ publication that the brain is more like a chemical factory than a computer.

“You can create the optimum conditions in your brain,” he said. “You are not a just a passive victim of your genes.”

The authors take issue with those who argue that a decline in cognitive ability is inevitable from the age of 17 onwards, with carefully lifestyle choices. “You can create spare cognitive ability is inevitable from the age of 17 onwards. With careful lifestyle choices “you can create spare cognitive capacity,” Horne said. They offer an intriguing list of do’s and don’ts and insist that people can be pro-active in keeping their brains agile. Much of it is pure common sense.

Stress is bad for your thinking. Avoid excess alcohol and smoking cannabis,” he said. Intriguingly, the authors also urge readers to avoid watching soap operas and Horne said “Don’t mix with whingeing, whining, moaning and cynical sorts of people”. And the book is full of practical tips on how to keep the brain firing on all cylinders. “Could meats and fish are good for your at breakfast,” horn said after writing the book which authors say is based on leading scientific research from around the world.

“Dark Chocolate is also good for you’re because it contains many of the chemicals present when your brain is thinking well. It relaxed the muscles around your blood vessels and actually improves the flow of blood to your brain.”

They then looked at reach into the seven stages of sex from the time you fist fancy it through to the after-glow.

“In four of the seven stages we see the same chemicals that help with the thinking process,” Horne said.