This time of year headaches I find can sometimes happen when the atmosphere is heavy and thunder and lightening threaten.  They drain you of energy and give you a burdensome ache in the forehead or at the back of the head.  Unless an effective and rapid remedy is found an afternoon’s work can be consigned to the pending tray.  Sometimes all that is required is a loosening of the muscles at the back of the neck and shoulders and some breathing exercises, but if the source of the headache is nervous in origin, a remedy that acts on the central nervous system is required.

There are many possible causes of headache. Primary headaches may be tension headache, migraine or cluster headache.  There can also be over lap and tension headaches can be a factor in migraine, though the latter has a circulatory factor in its origin, with dilation of blood vessels playing a role.  Secondary headaches, on the other hand, are caused by traumas or pathologies to the head or brain. But the commonest form of headache is probably the tension headache and this is caused by a number of factors, including stress, anxiety and lack of sleep. 

One of the plants the Celts revered and used as a remedy for headaches such as these is betony or wood betony (Stachys officinalis or Stachys betonica).  In fact, the Anglo Saxons had 29 uses for it and a physician to Augustus found forty seven diseases it could ‘cure’.  As well as being a ‘nervine’ tonic, betony is a digestive remedy and cleanser. It gently stimulates the cerebral circulation, making it an alternative to rosemary in that respect.  Betony is not an especially well known medicinal plant these days and it is curious to speculate as to why this should be.  Perhaps, it is because it contains a few alkaloids, a category of compound that is poisonous, but at the level found in betony you would have to consume a lot to come to any harm.  Other plants are generally mentioned before betony for headaches these days, such as skullcap, German chamomile, and lavender.

I was lucky enough to come across this close relative of the mints the other day and it is always a pleasant surprise to finally see a plant in the wild that you know from books and illustrations. It was growing in a small clump under tree cover, not far from a pathway.  It is quite similar to another plant in the same family, hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica), a common weed with a harsh odour that grows on roadsides but betony produces purplish flowers in a very spiky spike at the top of each stem.

 

With headaches, sometimes just a very small dose can be sufficient to ward off a dull pain.  For example, 1ml of a 1:3 tincture in a beaker with some water can produce swift results, giving lie to the notion that herbal remedies do not act quickly.  But beware that optimum dosages can vary between individuals and some people can need a lot more than others, and vice versa.

Betony is generally a very safe herb. Nonetheless, you need to respect these medicinal plants and treat them as you would a medicine you can buy across the counter from a chemist. Start with a very low dose (such as a few drops of a tincture), if you have not taken it before.  If you are allergic to any of the constituents, a low dose is not likely to produce as much of a reaction as a larger dose. Also, betony can stimulate the uterus and is therefore best avoided if you are pregnant.  The plant contains a range of different secondary metabolite substances, including alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids and volatile oils. These compounds give rise to several medicinal actions, including a mild, relaxing sedative effect on the central nervous system, a bitter stimulus to digestion and possibly an effect on the vascular system to lower blood pressure. This article, though, can only scratch the surface and if you wish to know more about this remarkable plant, you will need to search the literature and available data that there is on this somewhat neglected species.