Painkillers Are Not The Solution for Headaches

Oh man, you didn’t get enough sleep last night, it was really stressful at work today, and now you have a really bad headache! Sound familiar? What do you do? Like so many others, you pop a Tylenol or other over-the-counter medicine. Great, the world seems bright again with no more headaches!

It doesn’t quite work that way though, does it? Yep, you guessed it, the next day you wake up with another headache. Although tolerable, the headache is dull and constant. So, what do you do now? You take another painkiller -- maybe 2 would work better this time. Sounds logical, doesn’t it?

How wrong you are! The headache is still there because all you did is block the pain receptors that are involved in transmitting signals between the brain cells. Instead of treating the cause you simply treated the symptoms. In other words, your brain just stopped getting signals about the pain.

Over-the-counter Wrongs

There are many over-the-counter medications in addition to Advil and Tylenol that can be harmful if misused. It’s interesting to note that only 16% of people carefully read the label while 49% of people -- and that’s hundreds of millions of us -- read the label and still knowingly exceed the recommended dose. That is absolutely shocking! Which one are you?

You definitely have a problem if you experience headaches more than twice a day. Some people pop painkillers as though they are M&Ms. What happens when you take the same medicine for a long period of time? Your body becomes addicted to it and when the medicine wears off, you get an even stronger headache (called a rebound headache) which forces you to take medicine over and over and over again. It’s truly a vicious cycle.

Although painkillers can be helpful from time to time, taking them on a daily ration is a bad choice.

Read The Label

Even if it’s prescribed, some medicines can contain the same active ingredient simultaneously. If that’s the case you could easily exceed the maximum daily dose for that ingredient and, in turn, do your body more harm than good. It is of the utmost importance to always pay close attention and read the label.

For instance, used for fighting colds, Maximum Strength Theraflu contains acetaminophen. So does Tylenol, which is used for reducing headaches. By combining these 2 medicines you’ll like have an acetaminophen overdose. Now, combine this with a bad diet, drinking alcohol and irregular eating, and you’ll eventually destroy your liver. Since the signs of early stage liver failure resemble the common flu, by increasing doses of flu medicine, you’ll exacerbate the problem and completely destroy the liver. So you see, there is nothing simple about a tension headache and a weakened immune system.

Natural Remedies

Are you one of many who are now suffering from rebound headaches? If so, try replacing the painkiller medication with natural remedies as, not only are they more effective than painkillers, they work faster.

Used by millions of people for centuries, there are many natural remedies to choose from -- acupressure, aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, massage, yoga, and so on. In addition, by treating your headache before it even starts, you will save money on the painkillers. Natural remedies will work faster than you’ve ever thought possible.