It's bad enough that we have to deal with unfriendly environments when we're away from home. Our homes should be our refuge, the place that's safest and most comfortable for us. Let's take a look at ways to make our homes more head pain friendly.
1. Reduce or eliminated fragranced items in your home.
Reduce or eliminated fragranced items in your home, especially if they're a trigger for you. If fragrance seems not to be a problem or is a minor problem, limit yourself to a single fragrance rather than mixing fragrances. Remember, fragrances can gang up on us when we have a headache or Migraine. They can very quickly add to our nausea, making our home an unpleasant place for us. So, plan ahead, and reduce fragrances now.
2. Keep fragrance in mind when you shop for cleaning products.
Following the fragrance thought: If you're sensitive to fragrances, keep that in mind when you shop for cleaning products. Even if they don't contain fragrance, the smell of the chemicals in them can linger and either be a trigger or make you feel worse if you have a headache or Migraine. Even some of the products that make the bathroom bowl "sparkling blue" have fragrance, so read the labels.
3. Make a room your "comfort room" where you can retreat.
Choose a room that's in as quiet an area of your house as possible. Install darkening shades to make it as dark as possible. Make sure to have a comfortable bed, sofa, chair, whichever you need. Add a small lamp with a low wattage bulb, a box of tissues and a trash can. Keep a peppermint candle or some peppermint candy in your room, if helpful. If you can tolerate soft sound, you may want to have a CD player with soft music CD's or a relaxation CD. Anything else that makes you more comfortable.4. Simplify household chores.
Simplify household chores by making lists of tasks that need to be done on a daily basis and tasks that need to be done on particular days. Use the computer so you can change them easily and print copies as needed. If they're delegated to family members, make note of who is to do what. Keep copies of them in a place where everyone knows to look for them. Then, if you're unable to do or oversee chores, your home can still run smoothly and remain friendly to you instead of becoming a stressor.5. Find a special place for your medications.
Find a safe, special place in your home for your medications that's easy for you to access but where nobody else will find them, especially children. The bathroom is not a good place for medications because of the temperature changes from hot baths and showers. If available, a locking night stand drawer is an excellent location.6. Make your kitchen more friendly.
Be ready for easy meals, snacks, and drinks. It's important to stay hydrated, so be sure to keep your pantry stocked with what you like to drink. If you can't eat, think about nutrition when selecting drinks and consider juices and broths. If you can eat, try to keep foods you'll eat at these times stocked. You can cook ahead and freeze to make things easier. "Comfort foods" tend to be good at these times, but don't compound things by forgetting and eating trigger foods.
7. Don't forget to prepare the bathroom!
Install a darkening window shade so you can make the bathroom dark. Put a good nightlight in the bathroom. That's probably all the light you'll need, and possibly all you'll be able to tolerate at times. Keep a roll of paper towels and some small trash bags in the cabinet. That way, if you have to clean up after yourself, it's all disposable. If there's room, stash a small pillow in the bathroom. If you're sick, you may need to sit on it or even lie down for a few minutes.
