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Those who take medication for headaches three or more times a week may be suffering from medication misuse headache (MMH). Thought to affect 1 in 50 persons, MMH is caused by simple remedies, such as aspirin, as well as by prescription painkillers. When the analgesic effect wears off, the medication can cause a headache that the patient mistakes for a normal headache or a migraine. The patient takes more painkillers, thus repeating the cycle. Dr. Tim Steiner, of Imperial College, London, explains that "any patient complaining of chronic daily headache should be assumed to have MMH." He also notes that although the condition has been recognized for some years, most family doctors are unfamiliar with it and simply prescribe stronger painkillers, when all that is needed is for patients to stop taking them, reports The Sunday Telegraph of London.
source: awake