Last year, the International Headache Society published a study that found "overuse" of over the counter medicines as a major contributing factor to frequent migraine headache attacks. "Overuse has less to do with how many pills you take to relieve a single headache than with how often you take them," explains Dr. Robert Kunkel, a headache specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Headache Center. "If you get more than two headaches a week and take pain pills for them, you're at risk." Studies showed that pain relievers with caffeine, like Excedrin, were some of the worst culprits for exacerbating proclivity to migraines.
For many years, folks suffering from migraines had to deal with the pain, nausea and interruption to their daily lives because no effective treatment was available. Over the counter medications just did not do anything for them. In the United States alone, more than 28 million suffer from migraines — which translates to a high amount of time lost for work, social activities and daily routines. After some time spent on research and testing, a class of drugs known as triptans were approved that offered effective migraine headache relief.
There are plenty of different types of headache symptoms that people have to contend with. Since there are so many different types, the symptoms vary from one extreme to the other.
Tension headaches are the most common type of headaches experienced by many. Tension headaches result from the tightening of muscles in the back, neck, shoulders and face.
Migraines, on the other hand, affect about 6% of men and 13% of women. Compared to tension headaches, migraines can be much more intense and last longer.
If given the option, most people would prefer not to have to deal with a headache. Sufferers would be only too happy to know how to prevent migraine headaches from coming on and would be very willing to do all they could not to have any headache pains at all. At the very least, they would work to minimize the pain associated with the headaches. Chronic headache pain sufferers know that the intense pain can often have effects that remain long after the actual migraine attack is over.
Suffering from migraine headaches can be very difficult because of the severity and intensity of pain that accompany them. There are two good medications that are commonly used for treating migraines: ergot and midrin. However, any migraine headache medication that contains these compounds come with some serious side effects that every migraine sufferer needs to be aware of.
Ergots are a class of compounds that are similar to triptans. Technically, ergots are referred to as 5-HT1B/1D agaonists. Ergots work by blocking natural biochemicals from getting to the nerve receptors. Ergots also work well for many people who suffer from migraine headaches. Studies show that you should be careful when using ergots even though they are relatively safe. They do have a higher risk of side effects compared to other triptans, including Maxalt and Zomig.
While everyone suffers from a headache at one point or another, some individuals are more at risk to experiencing more severe and sudden frequent headaches than others. There are several studies that are able to pinpoint the likely culprits. These studies are still ongoing, and they are continually looking at the risk for the various types of headaches including tension headaches, migraines and cluster headaches.
Tension headaches are headaches that result from the muscles tensing up. Tension headaches can be triggered by normal daily activities including the way you hold the phone and how you sit. Your muscles are continually stretching and you can cause them to become inflamed by your actions. This in turn can result in tension headaches occurring.
