Hi, I am Joe Graedon. I am a pharmacologist. I write the people’s pharmacy newspaper column and host these indicated radio show. We have all had a headache at one time or another, but what should you choose? Well, it turns out that almost all of the over the counter-pain relievers are about the same in getting rid off your head pain. Whether it’s acetaminophen, the ingredient and Tylenol or whether it’s the anti-inflammatory ingredients like naproxen or ibuprofen and Advil or good old fashion aspirin. They all work equally well. Now, if you have a sensitive stomach, acetaminophen is your choice, its less likely because you’re a Caucasian. If you want to turbo charge your pain reliever however, look for caffeine. Now, you can get some caffeine in pills or you can rely on a good old fashion cup of coffee. About a 100 to a 150 mg will usually do the trick. Now, if your pain is really persistent, it could be your using too much pain reliever. If you are using something more than 2 or 3x a week, the pain reliever may actually be triggering a rebound headache, and that is also true with caffeine, so if you are cutting back on coffee, well it may be the lack of caffeine that is triggering your head pain. If you suffer from migraines, you might want to look for something called Excedrin migraine. The ingredients in this product are actually quite effective of getting rid of migraine pain. If you rather go natural however, you can find magnesium, about 300 to 400 mg a day can help for some people, or B vitamin, especially riboflavin. There is also some herbal approaches you might want to consider. There is something butter burk, the ingredient found here or feverfew, they can help prevent a headache. So, depending on the kind of pain you may be suffering, how long you have been suffering, or the degree of sensitivity of your stomach, there is just about something for every kind of head pain in the pharmacy but be careful what you choose.
