Over the counter medicine is one of those items you keep on hand for when pesky little headaches threaten to ruin a perfectly beautiful day. Over the counter medicines are great in treating minor ailments such as tooth pain, muscle soreness or common cold symptoms. There are two types of over the counter medicine that if taken as instructed on the manufacturing label can have a positive effect on pain levels.
- Acetaminophen
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ( also referred to as NSAIDs)
Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen can reduce mild pain such as: headaches, backaches, muscle aches toothaches and even mild cold symptoms. Acetaminophen is effective due to its ability to relieve pain by changing the way the body feels pain by lowering the body temperature. Acetaminophen is a mild drug with little if any adverse side effects; however, if Acetaminophen is used in dosages higher than the recommended amount complications could arise and threaten the health of the liver and kidneys.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used where chronic pain is felt. The purpose of NSAID is to relieve pain where there is inflammation. There are two forms of NSAID:
- Aspirin – examples of over the counter medication that have aspirin would be:
- Aleve
- Motrin
- Advil
- Non-aspirin – examples of non-aspirin over the counter pills would include:
- Ibuprofen
- Advil
- Motrin IB
The differences between over the counter medicine that has aspirin vs. the medicine that is aspirin free is that medicine containing aspirin prevents the platelets from becoming blocked and forming blood clots. The only major concern for taking wither drug is that if taken in to large of doses aspirin can increase the risk of excessive bleeding. Aspirin is often used to help prevent heart attacks and strokes.
Though medicating with over-the-counter medicine would be the ideal way to treat a migraine, there are those cases that need something more drastic in their approach to treating a migraine headache. This approach could include prescription medication, migraine surgery or nerve muscle removal. Speak with your health care provider about alterative migraine treatment options, if over the counter medicine does not work effectively.
Tags: Acetaminophen, inflammation, migraien treatment, migraine, migraine headaches, Migraine Medication, Migraine releif, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
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