Migraine attacks can be disabling. Migraine headaches affect approximately 30 million people in the U. The majority of them don't currently seek treatment for their migraine pain. Migraine headaches may first occur at a relatively young age, with the peak onset between eight and 12 years of age among males and between 13 and 17 years of age among females. The peak age for incidence is between 30 and 39 years of age. Migraines may occur less frequently and with less severity after the age of Migraine headaches are usually characterized by throbbing or pulsing pain on one side of the head.
The symptoms of migraine headache sometimes include sensitivity to light or sound, loss of vision, and nausea. Tension headaches typically cause a dull, steady ache above the eyes or in the back of the head. They are usually accompanied by a feeling of tight head pressure and occasional nausea.
The two most prevalent types of migraine headache are migraine without aura and migraine with aura. Approximately 20 percent of migraine sufferers experience aura during their migraine attacks.
The aura is comprised of neurological symptoms that most often include visual disturbances, such as flashing lights or lines, and may also include dizziness, numbness, or tingling that usually precedes the headache.
Attacks are typically occasional — one to three times per month — yet sometimes they occur two or three times per week and last from four to 48 hours, and sometimes as long as 72 hours if left untreated. Migraines can be triggered by a number of things. Triggers can be emotional, such as stress, anxiety, depression, or even mild excitement.
They can also be triggered by certain foods, including alcohol, chocolate, or citrus fruits. Hormones are also common triggers — many women experience migraines with changes in their estrogen levels during menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause. Until recently, only prescription drugs were approved for the treatment of migraine headache pain in the U. Migraine headaches affect — and disrupt — millions of lives each year.
While migraine attacks are responsible for missed family time, strained relationships, loneliness, sleep deprivation, and frustration, migraine also takes its toll on the workplace. Studies have shown that the majority of migraine patients do not currently seek professional treatment.
Excedrin products are over-the-counter medications that deliver fast relief for different types of headaches. Excedrin products include different combinations of the below active ingredients, depending on the product:. You should ask a doctor or pharmacist before taking Excedrin products if you are taking any other drug.
Excedrin products contain acetaminophen. Severe liver damage may occur if you consume 3 or more alcoholic drinks every day while using these products. The chance is higher if you have 3 or more alcoholic drinks every day while using these products.
It is recommended to avoid alcohol use if taking Excedrin PM. The FDA required that new labeling be created to address important patient information, instructions, and warnings for use in treating migraine headache pain.
The FDA has determined that acetaminophen is safe for most people to use, when taken as directed. Take acetaminophen and all other medications according to the package directions. For further information or to discuss personal health concerns, please consult your pharmacist or physician. View all Warnings and Side Effects. Consult with a doctor if you experience any of these side effects or other health concerns while taking Excedrin.
Many people get headaches or make their headaches worse because of poor posture. If you hold your head up in proper alignment with your body, there's less strain on your muscles. But if it is held forward of its proper position, it places strain on the muscles of the neck and upper back.
Certain positions can lead to muscle strain and headache if they're held for a time. If you hold a particular position such as bending over a typewriter, or holding the phone between your shoulder and your head, or doing any type of repetitive movement, you could be vulnerable to headache.
One way to counteract these stresses is to change position frequently. Every 45 minutes or so, give yourself a three to five minute ""break. Sinuses are air-filled cavities spaces located in the forehead, cheekbones, and behind the bridge of the nose. The sinuses produce a thin mucus that drains out of the channels of the nose. When a sinus becomes inflamed, often as the result of an allergic reaction, the inflammation will prevent the outflow of mucus and cause a pain similar to that of a headache.
See a doctor if you are experiencing sinus headaches to determine the cause. Sinus headaches are associated with a deep and constant pain in the cheekbones, forehead or bridge of the nose. The pain usually intensifies with sudden head movement or straining. The pain is usually accompanied by other sinus symptoms, such as nasal discharge, feeling of fullness in the ears, fever, and facial swelling. Whether your headache symptoms can actually be attributed to the sinuses will need to be determined by health care professionals.
If your headache is caused by a sinus blockage, such as an infection, you will likely have a fever and require a prescription medication. Treatment of sinus headaches is usually directed toward symptom relief and treating the infection. Treatment might include antibiotics for the infection, as well as a short period of pain and fever reliever such as acetaminophen, aspirin , decongestants such as phenylephrine, a vasoconstrictor to decrease nasal congestion , or antihistamines to treat the symptoms.
It is generally a misconception that allergies cause headaches. However, allergies can cause symptoms such as sinus congestion, which can lead to headache pain. If you have allergies, the treatment for your allergy can relieve your allergy symptoms, but may not relieve your headache pain.
The two conditions often must be treated separately. It contains three different drugs: acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine. These drugs work in different ways to help relieve your migraine pain. Acetaminophen is a pain reliever and fever reducer. How it works exactly is not known. We do know that it works mainly in the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord.
Acetaminophen increases the amount of pain your body can tolerate by reducing the amount of prostaglandins it produces. It reduces pain and inflammation, which includes swelling and irritation. Aspirin also reduces the amount of prostaglandins the body produces, but differently from how acetaminophen does. Caffeine is not a pain reliever. That means it makes blood vessels narrower. In Excedrin Migraine, caffeine works to narrow blood vessels in your brain. This decreases the amount of blood that can flow through the blood vessels at one time.
This action helps combat headaches, which happen when blood vessels widen. Check out the interactive infographic: 14 common migraine triggers ». Excedrin Migraine comes as a caplet you take by mouth. Each caplet contains mg acetaminophen, mg aspirin, and 65 mg caffeine. The recommended dosage is listed below by age.
Because it contains aspirin, you should be very careful when giving Excedrin Migraine to children and teens. Never give products that contain aspirin to a child younger than 12 years. Learn more: Treating migraines and severe migraines ».
Because taking over-the-counter or prescription medications too frequently can actually cause Medication Overuse Headache. Overstimulating the brain pathways involved in reducing pain can create a dependence on medication. Not only does overuse make the medication less effective over time, it also causes pain between attacks and may trigger more frequent attacks.
Overuse may even have a hand in progressing the disease from episodic to chronic. The warning signs of medication overuse include taking acute medications more than two to three days per week or having an acute medicate wear off before the pain has subsided.
The Excedrin Migraine recommendation is lower to avoid developing medication overuse headache. An advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration also made the following recommendations for the use of acetaminophen in order to reduce the incidence of liver injury: 1 the single adult acetaminophen dose should not exceed mg.
If you are using moderate to large quantities of acetaminophen or aspirin, it should only be under the supervision of a healthcare professional.
0コメント