How To: Cure a headache with acupressure

Learn how to cure a headache with acupressure. Instead of reaching for a pain pill, massage away a headache using acupressure, the traditional Chinese curative technique of applying pressure to certain points of the body.

If you feel pain when using acupressure, stop immediately. Pregnant women should not use acupressure.

Step 1. Press your temples

Using your index and middle fingers, apply pressure to the muscles by your temples – an area that holds a lot of tension. Keep up the pressure on this point, and the following ones, for one to two minutes.

Pinpoint the correct spot by clenching and unclenching your jaw and feeling for throbbing.

Step 2. Move to your ears

Move on to your ears: Using your thumbs, massage the area underneath the large bones behind your ears, using a circular motion. This corresponds to GB-20, an acupressure point that can relieve many kinds of headaches.

Step 3. Press between the eyes

Pinch the skin on the bridge of your nose, between your eyebrows – an area known as the "Third Eye" point – and press it upward.

Step 4. Try your hand

Finish up by squeezing the fleshy web of skin on the back of your hand between your thumb and index finger with the thumb and index finger of the other hand. This connects to the acupressure point LI-4; massaging it is particularly effective on sinus headaches. Do both hands.

Step 5. Congratulate yourself

Congratulate yourself for getting rid of your headache without the aid of modern medicine.

FACT: The average pharmacist offers advice to about 19 customers a week on over-the-counter headache remedies.