Headache Fact Sheets 2 | National Headache Foundation

Caffeine: A Review of the Evidence

Despite the fact that there have been numerous studies conducted on caffeine, there is no compelling evidence that supports the misconception that caffeine is addictive or habit forming for the vast majority of people. Caffeine Addiction A habit caused by…

Why Caffeine is Good and Bad

For years, caffeine has been a key ingredient in medications developed for the treatment of pain and headache. Numerous scientific studies have shown that caffeine combined with both prescription and nonprescription ingredients is both safe and effective in treating both…

Sinus Headache: Everything You Need to Know

Whether the symptoms of headache are due to sinus disease should be determined through an examination by a physician. The headache of sinus origin or acute sinusitis is usually associated with constant pain and tenderness over the affected sinus, a…

Tension-Type Headache: Everything You Need to Know

Tension-type headache is a nonspecific headache, which is not vascular or migrainous, and is not related to organic disease. The most common form of headache, it may be related to muscle tightening in the back of the neck and/or scalp….

Aspirin and Migraine

For nearly a century, aspirin has been used to treat migraine and other headaches. It has several actions that make it useful for treating migraine. First, it is an analgesic or pain reliever. Secondly, it blocks or reduces inflammation. This action…

CT Scan – Brain Scan

A CT Scan is short for computerized axial tomography of the brain. It utilizes x-rays which are combined by a computer into a single picture. This process enables the physician to obtain a series of pictures of the brain without…

Vitamins

Advertisements suggesting the beneficial effects of a variety of vitamins, minerals, and nutritional supplements as an effective treatment for headaches, these methods remain unsubstantiated in the medical literature. The excessive ingestion of fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A and D,…

Tricyclic Antidepressants

Tricyclic antidepressants help to preserve catecholamines* in the brain. They include amitriptyline (Elavil®), protriptyline (Vivactil®), nortriptyline (Pamelor®), imipramine (Tofranil®), desipramine (Norpramin® and Pertofrane®), and doxepin (Sinequan®). These medications are often used in patients who experience frequent, daily or near-daily headaches….

Fiorinal and Fioricet

Fiorinal and Fioricet are medicines for tension-type headaches. Fiorinal contains aspirin and Fioricet contains acetaminophen. They both contain butalbital and caffeine. Codeine is sometimes also added to this combination. Butalbital, a barbiturate sedative, is habit-forming. These medications should not be…

Transcutaneous Electrical Neurostmulator (TENS)

TENS is short for “Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator”. There are a number of manufacturers of these units and several different types. They have a similarity in that they generally use a 9-volt radio battery to produce a small electric current….

Beta Blockers

The use of beta blockers for the treatment of migraine began in the late ’60’s, when by accident migraine sufferers being treated for cardiovascular disease found that their migraine attacks lessened. Further research in the ’70s led to propranolol being…

Tinnitus

Tinnitus can often be an accompanying symptom to migraine. It refers to a persistent noise such as a ringing in the ear or buzzing sound heard by the individual. It can also be caused by the frequent use of a…

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