What is the Relation Between your Headaches and Caffeine

May 4th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

What if your morning dose of caffeine is responsible for you headaches!

Did you know that caffeine is one of the most usual drugs in our society? You can find this drug (yes it is a drug) in a lot of the food we eat everyday. You can find it in coffee, chocolate and more. This is probably one of the very few drugs that are legal and unrestricted. It is used everyday by millions of individuals if not more. You see the funny thing about caffeine and headache is that it’s a bit controversial. Some people experience headaches as a result of withdrawals symptoms from the drug, on the other hand Caffeine can help you get rid of headaches. I hope the following information will help you understand the relation between caffeine and headaches.

When Caffeine is the Cause for Your Headaches

As mentioned, caffeine and headaches are often linked together due to one of the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. You actually have to take a lot of caffeine in for headaches to start as a result of withdrawal, usually about as much as five cups of coffee a day.  Some people, though, will experience these headaches with less caffeine ingested over a longer period of use.  It is interesting to note to the sufferers of caffeine withdrawal should note that this drug is unique in that it’s difficult to overuse this drug, and the symptoms of this withdrawal are much less severe than with other drugs.

To avoid caffeine withdrawal headaches, you can either try to slowly ease the use of products with caffeine in them.  The former works well if you’re attempting to keep that pain from happening, but some people prefer to quit cold turkey and just get the headaches over with quickly, sort of like removing an adhesive bandage quickly.

When Caffeine is the Cure for Your Headaches

Caffeine can be used as headache relief as well, however.  One property of caffeine in headache medicines is that it helps them to work better, naturally complementing the effect of analgesics.  That is why some painkillers, such as Excedrin, contain caffeine.  One of the benefits of taking painkillers with caffeine for headaches is that due to the synergy between caffeine and the drug, you don’t need to take quite as much, which is always a benefit.

One factor to be aware of is that caffeine can also be responsible for some people migraines. Many people are unaware of the fact that taking caffeine can be responsible for their headaches. For these people it is important to avoid taking coffee as a preventive measure. This is especially true for those who suffer from migraines. If this is your case you should avoid things like:

- Coffee
- Chocolate
- Painkillers with caffeine

I am sure by now you can see how unique the link between caffeine and headaches is. For some it can be a cause, for others a cure.