From BBC News, 19 September 2012 (story by James Gallagher, health and science reporter).
Up to a million people in the UK have “completely preventable” severe headaches caused by taking too many painkillers, doctors have said.
They said some were trapped in a “vicious cycle” of taking pain relief, which then caused even more headaches.
The warning came as part of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) first guidelines for treating headaches.
It is also recommending acupuncture in some circumstances.
“Medication overuse headaches” feel the same as other common headaches or migraines.
There is no definitive UK data on the incidence of the condition, but studies in other countries suggest 1-2% of people are affected, while the World Health Organization says figures closer to 5% have been reported.
While painkillers would be many people's instant response, they could be making sufferers feel even worse.
Prof Martin Underwood, from Warwick Medical School, who led the NICE panel, said: “This can end up getting into a vicious cycle where your headache gets worse, so you take more painkillers, so your headache gets worse and this just becomes worse and worse and worse.
Exactly how painkillers have this effect on the brain is unknown.
Most of the people affected are thought to have started with either everyday, tension-type headaches or migraines. The headaches then became worse as they treated themselves at home.
Manjit Matharu, a consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, said there was a tipping point at 10 to 15 days of using pain relief each month when the drugs became the issue.
He said: “This is a huge problem in the population. The figures in terms of the number of people who have medication overuse headache are one in 50, so that is approximately a million people who have headaches on a daily or near daily basis because they're using painkillers.”
Dr Brian Hope: ‘Brain gets used to painkillers'”It will also raise awareness of medication overuse, which can be an issue for those with severe headaches.
“People with disabling migraine will experience improved quality of life as a result of this guideline.”
Dr Fayyaz Ahmed, the chair of British Association for the Study of Headache, welcomed the guidelines.
He said: “Headache is the most prevalent condition and one in seven of the UK population has migraine.
“The condition puts an enormous burden on the healthcare resources and the economy in general.”
MAIN TYPES OF HEADACHE
* Tension – the common “everyday” headache most people will experience at some point in their lives. In some cases people have tension headaches on most days of the month.
* Migraine – severe headache that can last for several days. It gets worse with activity and often comes with nausea as well as sensitivity to light and sound.
* Cluster – extremely severe pain around the eye and side of the face, also includes swelling and a red watery eye. Some people report eight attacks a day, which can last up to three hours.
* Medication overuse – feels like a tension headache or a migraine, but is due to taking too many painkillers.
* However, there are more than 200 types of headache.