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How To Remove Migraine Triggers From Your Home

Determining how to remove migraine triggers can be a painful subject.

We wouldn’t wish them upon our worst enemy.

They’re that bad.

There’s different levels of migraines, some more severe than others. All of them, however, are just different levels of miserable. The pain associated with migraines is, in part, what keeps us from talking about them. The fear that merely mentioning migraines could trigger the onset of one has kept communication constrained. That’s a myth, but there are real migraine triggers.

What Can I Do About Migraine Triggers

Some common triggers include:

• alcohol

• caffeine

• smoking

• cleaning chemicals

• food allergies

• stress

Removing these real migraine triggers can be life-changing–in a good way. Only one of these triggers can be identified quickly, however, and it doesn’t require a lifestyle change to eliminate it. It’s time to shed some light on that subject. Not to mention that we’re in an era that’s learning how to responsibly communicate the increasing waves of information available. So which of the migraine triggers out there are actually quite simple to remove?

The Bad News & Good News About These Migraine Triggers

The bad news is that you may have been triggering migraines in yourself or a loved one without even knowing it. The good news is that there’s something you can do about it–today.

There’s a lot of people online that are reporting that certain household cleaners were found to be the culprits. The guilty products range from Windex, to 409 Cleaner, to CLR, and so on. The common thread among them is that they’re all chemical-based, synthetic household cleaners. Most of these big-business companies could care less about the potential side-effects of their products. That being said, why should we show them any loyalty by buying their products?

Remove & Replace Action Plan

You can remove every single chemical cleaner from your home, if you want. In fact, many people suggest that you do just that.

However, you’re still going to need to clean your home, right? You’ll want to come up with a “remove and replace” plan of action.

Just make sure that the new items you choose to replace the old migraine-triggering common household cleaners are healthy, safe, and chemical-free.

Moving Forward Against Migraine Triggers

If you or anyone in your home suffers from migraines, there’s a strong chance that they could be triggered by these common household cleaners. Now that you know that migraine headaches can be triggered by the chemicals floating in the air, as well as on the surfaces of your home, it’s up to you to decide what you want to do about it.

If you’re like many people that have already found this quick, and unexpected, relief–you’ll want to develop your own “remove and replace” action plan as soon as possible.

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What is the Most Efficient Way to Naturally Treat Head Lice?

Can I Naturally Treat The Lice My Child Brought Home?

Back to School time is great, right? Kids are out of the house, they are learning new things, meeting new friends, and bringing new stories back home every day. Unfortunately, for many of us, that’s not all our kids brought back home. 

That’s right: head lice. Millions of kids are infested every year. It is horrible, as a parent, to have these repulsive bugs crawling around on our child’s head. Studies show that there are many more cases of kids coming home from school with head lice in the Winter season. Don’t think that you’re completely in the clear just because there’s no lice in your home after the first month or two back in school. 

If we’re not prepared, our initial reaction is to get rid of them ASAP. Careful though, we want to avoid “fighting fire with fire”, necessarily. What we don’t want to do is just dump a bunch of chemicals onto their heads. Oftentimes, the treatment is worse than the problem! 

Rest assured: you do have options. There have been several home-remedy-type solutions that have become popular through online sharing and word-of-mouth, but which one of these is the safest and most efficient way to treat lice naturally?

The Best Natural Treatment For Head Lice

The best, natural treatment to use is Tea Tree Oil. It’s also called Melaleuca Oil. There’s both types of products and several ways you can apply this child-safe head lice treatment.

  1. You can get a Melaleuca / Tea Tree Oil Shampoo, and have your child (and anyone else in the house!) begin using it for bathing.
  2. You can get the oil in its Essential Oil form, and either place drops directly onto your child’s scalp and/or use an Essential Oil diffuser to fill the room with the Tea Tree Oil vapor 

Which form of the Tea Tree Oil that you use is entirely up to your own personal preference, as their effectiveness is equal.

This will kill both the adult head lice, as well as their larvae and any eggs that they have laid.

Apply this natural treatment for head lice for as long as necessary.

Remember:

You don’t want these abhorrent creatures crawling back onto your child’s head and laying their eggs there again!

Like many of these completely safe, natural, no-side-effects-type of solutions: once your head lice problem has been eradicated, you can continue using the products as a means of prevention. 

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The Top Nine Chemical Nightmares Lurking in Your Household Products

A lot of the focus on the FDA lately has been about what is going into our food, but people are failing to see just how bad things have really become. If the regulation of consumable products has been lackluster, then the attention given to shampoos and soaps is virtually non-existent. Thousands of chemicals fill products that we use and absorb into our bodies every time we shower or even wash our hands! With no pre-product approval, it is impossible to tell just what chemicals we are exposed to, but here are nine that you certainly need to avoid!

Parabens: This nasty concoction has been used for quite some time under the guise of a necessary ingredient due to its ability to prevent the growth of bacteria, mold and yeast. However, it also contains estrogen-like properties that have shown correlation to the increased risk of contracting breast cancer and are commonly found in shampoos, washes, deodorant, etc.

Synthetic Colors: Watch out for ingredients like D&C Red 27 and FD&C blue 1. After all they are derived from things like petroleum and coal tar. It isn’t very surprising that it is suspected to be a carcinogen and skin irritant, but it is shockingly linked to ADHD in children!

Fragrance: Here is where this tour starts to truly get scary. Fragrance was originally a term used to protect a company’s secret formula, but in this day and age, at least the FDA should know what is making your shampoo smell. We know the identities of many chemicals that create mood-calming/refreshing scents, but if they don’t even have to list their “secret blend” on the bottle, how can we even know it is dangerous or not!

Phthalates: We commonly see phthalates in the form of dibutyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate and dimethyl phthalate in many hair care products, lotions, and perfumes. These compounds have a lot of evidence showing they increase the risk of breast cancer, early breast development in girls, and even reproductive birth defects in men and women.

Triclosan: Get ready to visit yet another endocrine disruptor, except this one targets your thyroid as well as your reproductive hormones. Research is showing that excessive exposure leads to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What makes it worse? The fact that most research shows it kills no more bacteria than natural hand-soap.

Sodium lauryl sulfate/Sodium laureth sulfate: These nasty chemicals can be found in pretty much any that foams up. It is a known skin, lung, and eye irritant, but a far larger concern is that SLS creates nitrosamines when combined with the wrong chemicals. This leads to all sorts of issues, but the kidneys and respiratory system take the hardest hit. Watch out for this ingredient in shampoo, body wash, mascare and acne creams.

Formaldehyde: A liquid that immediately makes us think of CSI and dead corpses, this embalming fluid is often found in products as a preservative, but it isn’t meant for the living. It was already deemed a carcinogen by The International Agency for Research on Carcinogens and it can have a harsh impact on your immune system. Common products containing this ingredient are nail polish, conditioners, washes, cleansers, nail polish treatments, shampoos, eye shadows, and the list goes on.

Toluene: Another petrochemical that comes from petroleum or coal, you will often find it in phenylmethane, benzene, toluol, methylbenzene. Seeing as this chemical is normally used as a paint thinner, you can imagine what it does to your skin and lungs. While the fumes are harmful to people of all ages, expecting mothers should especially beward since toluene is directly related to developmental damage in the fetus. To add to the fire, it can harm your immune system as well. Be careful when selecting items like nail polish, hair bleaching products, and nail treatment.

Propylene glycol: We see this in most things we rub into our skin or spray onto ourselves, but there is only so much we can take. When making your purchase, make sure the propylene glycol levels are below 2%. Anything higher is already at risk for causing dermatitis and hives, so it is best to avoid it altogether.

While we use most of the products mentioned in this blog on a daily basis, we aren’t as doomed as it may seem. It is true that most of the well-known brands are chalked-full of nasty chemical combos that will demolish your system, but keep in mind there is a natural alternative to every one of these items listed. Whether you learn from us our take your own path, just know that when it comes to household products and personal care items, it is better to be able to read the ingredient list without a PHD in chemistry!