Over-the-counter medications for headache relief are frequently often considered to be completely harmless. These medications can be purchased easily, no prescription needed!
Over-the-counter pain medications can cause harm. Let’s examine the possible problems that could occur with long-term use of some of the more popular pain medications.
Paracetamol over time can lead to kidney impairment, even failure. Ibuprofen can result in liver dysfunction and stomach ulcers. In 1991, the Journal of Rheumatology published an article about NSAIDS (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs), and how they result in over 100,000 hospital stays every year in the US because of their adverse effects on the gastrointestinal system.
If you take aspirin often, you might be dismayed to read this next sentence. Regular use of aspirin puts you in a higher risk group for developing pancreatic cancer. 31,000 Americans a year are diagnosed with it and almost every victim dies within 3 years under medical care. A study of 88,000 nurses showed that those who took 2 or more aspirins every week for twenty or more years had a fifty-eight percent higher risk of pancreatic cancer. Using 14 or more aspirin every week placed the nurses at 86% more risk than non-users (2).
The Sunday Telegraph in November 2009 featured an article titled “Are We Hooked On Painkillers?”(3) In the article, it was noted that “They’re convenient, accessible and effective, but there is a dark side to our use of analgesics?” Some of the points made in the article include:
It is very easy to buy anti-inflammatory medications now: tablets that were once prescription-only are now as easy to buy as toothbrushes.
Pain-killers may be masking a more serious problem: That recurring headache could, for example, stem from a neck injury that needs care. Or it could be stress-related…”
Recent research has challenged the study that recommended aspirin should be taken regularly by older men and women. The findings were presented by the University of Edinburgh’s Professor Gerry Fowkes at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, held recently in Spain. ‘Our research suggests that aspirin should not be prescribed to the general population, although it does have benefits for people with established heart disease or other conditions.’ says Professor Fowkes
“Dr Richard Stark (an Australian neurologist) says that worldwide, approximately four per cent of people have headaches 15 days or more per month, and about a quarter to a half of these are overusing over-the-counter medications to treat their ailments.”
It seems analgesics are not as safe as we might believe!
Please remember that your headaches may have a serious or sinister underlying problem, and should always be checked by a qualified doctor. You might also like to consult your chiropractor. A chiropractor will not prescribe analgesics: rather, they provide headache relief through chiropractic care, nutritional advice and stress management advice.
1  Fries James F., “NSAID Gastropathy: The Second Most Deadly Rheumatic Disease? Epidemiology and Risk Appraisal”, Journal of Rheumatology, 1991, (Supplement 28), Vol.18, pp.6-10
2  Schernhammer, ES, Kang, JH, Chan, AT et al., “A Prospective Study of Aspirin Use and the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in Women.” Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2004;96{1}:22-28.
3  Doherty, Elissa. “Are We Hooked On Painkillers?” The Sunday Telegraph Nov. 1, 2009 

If you are searching for natural ways to relieve headaches, you will be glad to realize that there are some different ways that you can try. Headaches are one or more of the most common ailments that affect people. One of the largest reasons for this is that lots of things can result in headaches.

Finding pressure points is probably one of the best ways to eliminate headaches. It doesn’t work for everyone, but most people can at any rate find some short term relief from it. Something that needs to be pointed out is that even though they’re called pressure points just pushing on them isn’t always the best plan. Sometimes gently massaging the area is a better tactic.

One or more of the most commonplace pressure points used to relieve headaches is the temples. By gently pressing on your temples you may be able to alleviate the pain from a headache. Slowly moving your fingers in little circles can help as well.

There are lots of pressure points on your neck, which isn’t surprising thinking about how many muscles are in your neck. You can endure many places to ease a few of the tension out of these muscles, but many people know about these. There are many other pressure points on the body that work very well but aren’t as familiar to most people.

You can use a pressure point in your hands to alleviate headaches easily. Right between your thumb and forefinger is a pressure point. This is deep in your hand, not in the webbing. Put your fingers where you are able to feel your thumb meeting the other bones of your hand and squeeze gently. Take deep breaths and hold the spot for about a short time, and you should feel some improvement. One of the best things about this pressure point is it is discreet. By placing pressure on this spot you are able to pay yourself relief without letting everyone know that you have a headache.

Another place that can make a big difference in how you feel is right in between your big toe and second toe. To relieve headaches, place your fingertip or one of your knuckles on the base of your foot in between these toes, as near to the toes as you can get, and apply pressure. Start gently, and slowly increase pressure.

One thing you really do not want to do is ever press too hard. Take into account that you can always add a little more pressure; but if you push too hard immediately, you could end up in more pain than you started in. Be gentle and work slowly as a way to attain the best results.

If you suffer from headaches, you ought to talk to your physician about it. Treating the rare headache on your own is one thing, but if you get them a lot you ought to seek medical advice, just to be safe.

But if your physician gives you the go-ahead to relieve headaches on your own, this can be a great alternative to taking pain killers. Try some of these pressure points gently and slowly, and you will start feeling better in the next few months. The following information was provided by electronic cigarette starter kits.

Have you ever felt like there’s a tight band around your head, tightening everything in that area? There could be a throbbing pain that would last for several hours. Chances are you are suffering from tension headaches; a type of headache that is commonly experienced by many people.

According to health experts, tension headaches are also known as tension-type headaches for good reason. It can be a serious issue if the headaches keep continuing. Unfortunately, there are some people who take medication for tension headaches, thinking it’s a migraine headache.

The basic symptoms of a tension headache would usually include an aching pain in the head, feelings of tenderness in areas such as the scalp, neck and the shoulder muscles. Additionally, there can be instances where one will feel like there is tightness across the forehead or on the sides and back of the head. Some may even have a loss of appetite as a result of having tension headaches.

There are chronic and episodic tension headaches a person could experience. How do we identify each? If you have been suffering from the headache for the last 15 days and have noticed a pattern in the past few months, you are likely to be suffering from a chronic tension headache. Episodic tension headaches are of a milder version and lasts for a lesser period.   In times when headaches are a symptom of excess weight, a notable solution is the Seattle HCG Diet.

What exactly causes tension headaches to occur? Doctors say that it is difficult to determine the exact cause. Nevertheless, experts state that a person’s stress and tension level can have an impact on the headaches.  When stress and worry can be a cause headaches, some people have actually found relief through psychic readings.

In addition to having a stressed out life, a person’s high intake of caffeine or alcohol, feeling anxious or depressed can all increase the severity of the headache you have.

Even though tension headaches are common, it should not be underestimated. Having a tension headache can cause a lower productivity level, and the quality of life decreasing with time.   In the rare cases when a migraine is caused by going top-down in a Saturn Sky, this can be alleviated with a Saturn Sky windscreen windblocker wind deflector.

There are some people who do not take any type of treatment for their tension headaches and end up in worse situations. Treatment for tension headaches usually includes medical prescriptions for pain killers such as Analgesics and a combination of other medications. Getting a proper diagnosis done is more important than consuming any medicine.

During some point in your life, you would have suffered from a headache. A headache is a symptom of a number of various conditions that impact the head and sometimes extending towards the neck and is one of the most common pain complaints in people.  This common pain complaint, commonly known as headache, is a sign of different things affecting the head. Whether it is a minor or terrible headache they can occur more frequently in some people than others. There are several reasons of frequent headaches which are touched off in various means for every person. The extent to which the headache lives on} and the strength of the pain will also vary on each individual.

The very common causes of frequent headaches are viral infection, sinusitis, musculo-skeletal conditions, migraine, fatigue and headache, stress and other forms of tension. However meningitis, blood pressure, strokes and brain tumors are also linked to causes of frequent headaches.

When a headache strikes, the most common form of relief is an over-the-counter medication such as Tylenol, ibuprofen, aspirin or pain relieving medications that contain caffeine. The misuse of these medications can actually cause frequent headaches to occur. Once the medication wears off for the pain a withdrawal reaction may occur, making you want to take more medication thus leading to another headache and the need to take more medication again. As the cycle continues, headaches will occur more frequently and might extend the severity of the pain thus leading to frequent headaches.

Nausea, vomiting or the feeling that light bothers the eyes or sound bothers the ears are some of the most common symptoms that comes up with frequent headaches. Some people are more stooped to a particular type of headache such as cluster headaches, migraine headaches or tension headaches which occur more often than other types of headaches, however anyone who suffers from a headache, suffers from the same thing which is agony. The only way of diagnosing the type of frequent headache one suffers through would be through the description of symptoms felt by the sufferer.

Yes there are ways to prevent frequent headaches. One practice that can be used to prevent headaches would be to limit the use of pain relievers when headaches occur such that the intake is limited to only twice a week and avoiding products that contain caffeine whilst taking the pain relievers. Sometimes frequent headaches occur because of the type of foods taken so a good diet is perpetually the best way to go about it. Exercising regularly too can keep you away from frequent headahces as exercising will take away toxic waste from your body. Either way, it is best that you become aware of the causes of freuent headaches before trying to prevent them.

When the author is over her headaches, she’s a fan of psychic readings, the HCG Diet, and the Pontiac Solstice windscreen windblocker wind deflector.