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Analgesics can make headaches worse
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Each of us faces headaches. For some people, this is a consequence of neurological diseases, some are very sensitive to pressure changes, and there are those who brought themselves to acute pain attacks with their own careless actions.
Regular use of analgesics not only does not help, but also increases pain. This is what British scientists from the Nice Institute of Health and Medicine say.
According to researchers, those who constantly suffer from headaches use painkillers daily. In order to eliminate pain, people take ibuprofen, aspirin and paracetamol. Over time, the brain develops resistance to the effects of these drugs and becomes more sensitive to pain, which makes it more noticeable for a person.
Let us recall that, as Web2Health has already reported, analgesics such as ibuprofen and aspirin can cause hearing loss.
According to statistics, about 10 million people in the UK suffer from regular headaches, 7 of them suffer from migraines, 1.5 million complain of a “bursting” headache several times a week, about 100 thousand people suffer from so-called “cluster” headaches – they appear out of nowhere and just as quickly disappear into nowhere. And another million people are those patients who simply abuse pills.
According to scientists, such an effect from taking analgesics can be observed when taking paracetamol, aspirin or ibuprofen more than 15 days a month. However, there are many individual cases where the dose and frequency of use were much lower, but the harm was similar.
Doctors recommend refraining from taking medications in such quantities, and also trying to switch to other methods of combating pain, such as acupuncture, inhaling oxygen, or alternative drugs such as triptans.
"There are effective treatments for headaches," says Martin Underwood, a research professor at Warwick Medical School. "However, taking painkillers for 15 days or more a month can lead to tolerance and reduce the effectiveness of the drugs."
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