Thursday, February 5, 2015

A Doctor’s Advice on Headaches and Migraines

How much OTC medication is too much?
Every day is definitely too much. Limit aspirin or Tylenol to no more than three days a week. Some drugs, such as Excedrin Migraine, are especially likely to set you up for the vicious cycle of rebound headaches.

If you take a medication every day, your body comes to expect it, and as the meds wear off during the night, you wake up with a low-grade dull ache often accompanied with anxiety. So you take more medication, and the cycle starts all over.

How do you know when you need to visit your doctor?
If the OTC medication isn't cutting it in terms of pain control, or if you're using it more than two or three times a week, your headaches need medical attention. You should also see your doctor when there's a change in the pattern, such as the headaches are progressively getting worse, or you're developing new symptoms.

When should you go to the emergency room with a headache? In other words, what are the signs something more severe is going on?
Any time you have a sudden onset headache with severe pain or symptoms that are unfamiliar to you, you should visit the emergency room. We call these "crash" headaches, and they can quickly put you at your wits' end. You need to make sure that something more dangerous isn't going on, and doctors will treat all such severe head pain as a secondary headache until proven otherwise.

You should also seek medical advice if you have a severe headache and are over 50, or if you have other symptoms such as numbness or dizziness. And if the headache is following an injury or blow to the head, go to the emergency room. You may need a CT scan.