Best medication for a headache?
I’ve had a headache for 3 days now, what is the best medication to take a headache away?
There are losts of good answers, but the best answer:
Answer by Nurse Jacki
If you are looking for something that you can go get at the store, try Excedrin. It contains aspirin, Tylenol(acetaminophen) and caffeine, and it works really well for headaches. Some stores have been having a shortage of Excedrin, but most chain drugstores and large supermarkets will have a store brand that works just as well as the name brand. Look for a label that says “compare to Excedrin”, or look for those three ingredients– aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine. That should help.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
It’s probably stress related.
Plagued with headaches from childhood to middle age I have had many different types: Migraines, Cluster, Allergic, Visual and mild. The following has helped me and others, I AM NOT A DOCTOR and I recommend that you make an appointment to see one and possibly consider counseling.
This is not a substitute for seeing a Doctor or a counselor. However, if you read this and follow the recommendations at the END you may be headache free before the appointment date(s).
What your DDS, ER, MD or chiropractor may not tell you are that most headaches are STRESS related and they can be and usually are triggered by conditioning. If you can identify the conditioned triggers of your headaches you can break the cycle of stress aggravating a headache and the headache causing more stress, fueling a very disabling negative feedback cycle. Break the cycle by:
Reduce headache symptoms such as, nausea, vomiting and vertigo.
Try inducing relaxation.
Teach your body to be more tolerant towards headache triggers.
Try improving blood-circulation to your brain.
Here are a few common types of headaches:
SUBDURAL Hematoma headaches are caused by trauma. If you have suffered a HEAD INJURY please stop reading this and go to the nearest hospital Emergency Room NOW.
MIGRAINE headaches are usually one sided, more common in females and characterized by at least one of the following; sensitivity to light, pain behind one eye, throbbing brought on by bright lights, chocolate, cheese, red wine or menstrual cycle. You can also have a visual aura around lights and things may taste odd.
HYPERTENSION headaches are at the top and back of your head and throb. You usually wake up with this headache and after about 3 to 4 hours it subsides and may be caused by high blood pressure. You may need medicines to reduce your high blood pressure.
CLUSTER headaches can be seen in an adolescent to adult, more common in males, one sided, usually over temple or eye area, may have a blood shot eye(s), and may wake you up at night, runny nose, sweating, tearing of the eyes, usually worse in Spring or Fall (allergy season) and lasts 15 min. to 12 hrs.
MUSCULAR TENSION headaches feels: band-like distribution around head – like wearing a very tight head band and is brought on by stress, tension, fatigue and work.
CERVICOGENIC (neck caused) headaches – characterized by possible sharp pain behind your ear at the base of the skull along with correlated shoulder pain which can last for days and weeks at a time until misalignment is corrected. Medications provide only short term relief when taken.
SINUS headaches are localized in nature; certain positions are worse like the nose area, steady throb, and worse in the morning and may be seasonal.
Rounding it out are Temporal, Subarachnoid Hemorrhage and Brain Tumor headaches.
With the exception of the last three types of headache and SUBDURAL Hematoma trauma headaches there are SIX home remedies that I use and that may work for you as they do/did for me. This is a routine;
(1) Drink 16 to 24 ounces of water as dehydration may cause headaches. Dehydration is stress.
(2) Eat a banana! My MOST skeptical of friends was SO DESPERATE he eventually tried it and claims that it cures 40% of his headaches/migraines and gives some relief of the other 60%! Bananas are loaded with potassium which helps alleviate all headaches. In addition it is very filling and an empty stomach is stress.
(3) Take your chosen OTC meds, if any.
(4) Take a pleasant shower.
(5) De-stress by; turning off the phone, TV, the computer, the clock and don’t watch the news!
(6) Lay down for a nap. To unplug the brain you are only going to think only about what else you can do to de-stress.
This is a routine I use to break the headache cycle. You could do the same or add other stress reducers, such as: cold compresses, ear plugs, sleep visors herbal teas, etc. It’s important to have a routine so that you can get CONTROL of the headaches and not vice-a-versa.
Knowledge is power. Learn more about headaches and get more control and empowerment over them. Start at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headache Also try: http://www.headache-treatment-options.com/
Hope this helps!
Hi Annmarie,
As stated below Excedrin Migraine works pretty good. Try eating something cold, even ice. Also you can use ice packs on your head to help. If this doesn’t help you should try going to a doctor soon. Hope this helps you.
Outlaw