Migraine Oil Blend - Aromatherapy

My daughter Tehila is a chronic sufferer of migraine headaches, sometimes even resulting in convulsions and a trip to the emergency room. I also get migraines, but not as often. I've found that aromatherapy really does work.

• Ready In: 1 min
• Yields: 40 ml

Ingredients

• 30  ml  carrier  oil (e.g. grapeseed)
• 6  drops  wheatgerm  oil
• 5  drops  lavender oil
• 5  drops  sweet marjoram  essential oils
• 5  drops  clary sage  essential oils
• 2  drops  basil  essential oils

Directions

1. Gives a 3% dilution.
2. May also be made up in a plain, vegetable oil-based lotion.
3. The wheatgerm oil is necessary to preserve the life of your blend; if you intend to use it up quickly, then this is not necessary.
4. You can also purchase ready-blended carrier oil bases, which usually include the correct amount of wheatgerm oil already.
5. This blend was formulated with menstrually-related migraines in mind, since these are the ones the recipe creator principally suffers from.
6. As a result, the oils chosen also have hormone-balancing properties as well as being good general analgesics and muscle relaxants.
7. This oil is also useful for menstrual cramping.
8. Migraine tends to affect one's sense of smell and often causes nausea; hence what may be perfect for one person may not be acceptable for another.
9. This blend has a herby, somewhat heavy aroma that the recipe creator finds is absolutely fine, but if you want something sharper, try: 5 drops lavender 5 drops rosemary 5 drops grapefruit 30ml carrier oil.
10. If your headache is due to having a cold, eucalyptus would be a particularly useful oil to use (instead of grapefruit, say; same quantity).
11. If you feel a migraine descending, rub this oil on your face, neck and shoulders, put some of the essential oils on an oil burner if you have one, drink a glass or two of water (mint tea is also useful), eat something starchy, and a lot of the time this will do the trick (if it doesn't, rest in a darkened room).
12. Aromatherapy is very successful in treating migraine, where conventional painkillers often aren't.
13. This is because the essential oils get directly into the bloodstream, either through the capillary network if applied to the skin, or through the lungs if inhaled.
14. They do not need to pass through the digestive system first, which is just as well since digestion tends to"shut down" during migraine, which is why painkillers often do not work.
15. Drinking gallons of water and eating regularly makes an enormous difference to migraine attacks.
16. If you suffer from nausea, try eating pickled ginger, the thin pink strips that are used in sushi.
17. Then go and eat some toast or something dry, whether you feel like it or not: not eating will only worsen both the nausea and the migraine.