Some ways you can treat occipital neuralgia at home include.
Apply ice/heat therapy. Ice therapy may reduce local inflammation and relieve pain.
Take NSAIDs. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen (e.g., Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (e.g., Aleve).
Give yourself a neck massage.
There are no cures for occipital neuralgia so occipital neuralgia is not curable but treatments are available to help which include surgical treatments and non surgical treatments.
Occipital neuralgia itself can't kill you but other complications that can result from untreated occipital neuralgia can kill you.
Occipital Neuralgia itself is not serious and not life threatening.
Although if left untreated the occipital neuralgia can lead to other serious health issues.
If left untreated, complications of untreated occipital neuralgia can be serious or even life threatening.
You can help minimize your risk of serious complications by following the treatment plan you and your health care professional design specifically for you.
Occipital neuralgia is a distinct type of headache that is characterized by a piercing, throbbing, or electric-shock-like chronic pain in the upper neck, back of the head, and behind the ears, usually on one side of the head.
Typically, the pain of occipital neuralgia begins in the neck and then spreads upwards.
Occipital neuralgia is most commonly caused by pinched nerves in the root of a person's neck.
Sometimes this is caused by muscles that are too tight in a person's neck.
In some cases, it can be caused by a head or neck injury.
Chronic neck tension is another common cause.
Some ways to treat Occipital Neuralgia include.
Apply heat to your neck.
Rest in a quiet room.
Massage tight and painful neck muscles.
Take over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs, like naproxen or ibuprofen.
Occipital neuralgia may go away with time if the cause of your occipital nerve inflammation is corrected.
Occipital neuralgia is caused by damage to the occipital nerves, which can arise from trauma (usually concussive or cervical), physical stress on the nerve, repetitive neck contraction, flexion or extension, and/or as a result of medical complications (such as osteochondroma, a benign bone tumour).