Tips for Getting Rid of a Caffeine Headache While Avoiding Withdrawal Symptoms
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Caffeine may be something that we consume on a daily basis but that doesn't diminish the fact that it's a serious drug. People who regularly have caffeine in their diets realize this when they fail to get their daily dose of caffeine and begin to suffer from drug withdrawal symptoms. The most common of these is the "caffeine headache" or "caffeine withdrawal headache". Unfortunately, the most commonly recommended treatment for the caffeine headache is to consume some caffeine. For people who are trying to cut back on caffeine, this isn't a solution. In fact, it's just a way of perpetuating the problem.
Here are some other things that you can do to get rid of a caffeine headache:
- Take a nap. Sometimes it is possible to just sleep through the withdrawal headache. If you're in a position to take a nap during your day, this could be a way to resolve the problem. This is especially true if you are trying to cut caffeine out of your diet since chances are that you're going to be tired anyway. Here are some additional tips on how to take a good nap; you're probably going to need them since napping when you've got a headache isn't too easy to do!
- Medicine. People who aren't opposed to taking headache medicine will generally find that the typical pain relievers are capable of eliminating the caffeine headache. Tylenol, Aspirin or Ibuprofen may be used to get rid of the headache. People who are trying to ease off of caffeine and not just quit it cold turkey may find that Excedrin, a pain reliever that contains a minimal amount of caffeine, may help best. Of course, if this is an ongoing problem, you'll want to discuss the use of this medicine with your doctor.
- Peppermint. One of the most common natural headache cures is peppermint (usually in the form of peppermint tea). People who suffer from caffeine headaches have reported that they usually go away shortly after using peppermint as a natural remedy.
- Drink lots of water. One of the best natural things that you can do for your body is to drink water. You might be surprised by how much you can cure when you get more than your necessary eight glasses of water per day. Try adding more water to your diet and see if the headaches don't disappear.
- Get a massage. You might find that you just need to get your body into a state of relaxation in order to cause the headache to disappear. Schedule a massage appointment at a local day spa. You might consider discussing what aromatherapy options they have available for headaches.
• The pinch trick. People have reported that you can use an acupressure trick in which you pinch the area between your thumb and forefinger. You're supposed to pinch tightly until it hurts. Others say that this trick doesn't work but when you're desperate to get rid of that headache, it might be worth a try.
Ultimately, the caffeine withdrawal headache will go away on its own. These are just some of the ways that you can convince it to move along faster so that you can move on with your day!
- Information about caffeine dependence
- The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Women Caffeine Withdrawal
- Caffeine Withdrawal Is Real, Study Recommends Making Caffeine ...
- Go Ask Alice!: Coffee withdrawal symptoms?
- Caffeine and Headaches - WebMD
- Caffeine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Caffeine Addiction
- Coffee and Caffeine's Frequently Asked Questions
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some people also just assume that it is a headache caused by caffeine, that may not be the case though. everybody and thier bodies are differant however we all share the same need in order to survive food,shelter and WATER. That does not just apply to people, it applies to next to every living thing on earth such as animals and plants.
our needs vary from person to person. next time you get a headache: Breath deep slowly (increase oxygen levels) Drink water as close to body temp as possible our bodies will not absorb the water untill it reaches body temp 37deg. this always works for me as a last resort take the blood flow away from your head, immerse your feet in tolerably hothot water this releives tension in your head real quick
I wrote an entry to my blog about caffeine related headaches too. When I had a two month break from work while I was in the process of switching jobs, I was able to quit for good. But it was a miserable two months, waking up with a headache and lethargic all day. No matter how much sleep I was getting, I was still tired and cranky. Then one day (the 56th day to be exact), the symptoms disappeared. I am my former energetic self again in the morning. People talk about drugs, drinking, and smoking with their kids. But caffeine is also an addiction, though acceptable, that should not be encouraged by the numerous coffee shops everywhere. It really saddens me to hear about my co-worker’s teenage daughter loading up on coffee and energy drinks throughout the day to get through all her activities. Sometimes I just think we are better off slowing down and getting more sleep.
On the few occasions I've had a caffeine headache, the only thing I can contemplate doing is lying down - but I can't sleep. I also find that painkillers have almost no effect (that's how I work out it's a caffeine one and not some other kind of headache!). I must remember your tips about massage and peppermint and try them.
I only have one or two cups a day and I can still get a caffeine headache. However, I don't worry too much - there is SO much evidence these days about the benefits of coffee in preventing Parkinsons and gallstones, improving asthma etc etc, that I think a small amount each day is probably a good thing.
I have a kidney infection and I cannot have caffine for the next 2 weeks.. my head is thumping and nothing is working!! I only drink 1 cup a day so I didnt know it would effect me this much =(
I try to have a regular supply of coffee so I don't get caffine headaches! But sometimes I do suffer them. Drinking lots of water helps.
I quit of coffee when i quit of to smoke one year and a half ago. The headache were gone long time ego. And now i don't enjoy the time i smoke a cigarrette or taken a coffee, on the contrary i enjoy of the whole time.
Cheers
Very informative..a very good hub in my onpinion. Caffiene produces a "psychological dependance" that will produce withdrawal symptoms that can be easily cured with the tips you mentioned
great work
I feel somewhat forced to drink coffee due to it helping me with 'regularity', and mental alertness. It's important to keep your daily consumption fairly constant. For example, one woman at work told me that she got a headache every weekend. Sure enough, she drank coffee during the week, but not on the weekend. Sometimes I wish to dry out from my caffeine consumption. I cut back 4oz, every two days and suffer no headaches.
Wow! my spell checker says, "No spelling errors were identified!" ~Must be the coffee.
I dont smoke, dont drink coffe. But i have headache some times :((
I've found that drinking a lot of water helps me most.
I just tried the pinch trick and it totally worked! I've had a headache for about 3 hours now and it worked!
that pinch thing it works now my headache is gon
I googled "caffeine headache" and chose this article. Desperate, I tried pinching that area; and boy does it smart if you press hard enough.
My intense, pounding headache IMMEDIATELY went from an 8.5 to a 2. Stunned, I released, and it gradually turned up to a dull roaring 5. Interesting.
This inspires me to look into acupressure pronto.
I slept in and had my coffee later than usual - two tylenols (and I rarely take any) didn't help, but I found some good peppermint candies and they helped IMMEDIATELY! Thanks! On with my day!
For me, taking a cold shower sometimes helps.
Guys, it's fine to try the odd remedy to dampen pain, but don't ever confuse correlation with causation! There's plenty of causal evidence that caffeine withdrawal triggers headaches, but just because your pounder seems to die down around the time you pinch your hand doesn't mean that's a legitimate cure (this one in particular seems to "work" only because our brains can perceive one sensation of pain at a time). There's lots of complex stuff happening in our bodies and we have to be careful not to connect dots where none exist. Otherwise we give platforms to frauds and snake oil salesmen.
Just a warning on caffeine, a work colleague of mine collapsed several years ago during a meeting, the cause was caffeine poisoning caused by drinking excessive amounts of strong coffee, he almost died!!!!
I was having headachs all the time and taking BC's or goody powder to make them go away. I also love to drink Tea. I read up on caffeine headachs and decided to go cold turky on caffeine....within about 3 weeks my daily headachs stopped....I now have caffine once a week and no longer take BC's or any headach medicine that has caffeine. I took things like Tylenol and Advil (if neede) to get thru the withdrawl...neither of those medicines have caffeine. GOOD LUCK FOLKS!
Great Hub and one I need to attempt to deal with...
Blessings
I'm going through caffeine withdrawal at the moment and find that drinking water makes my headaches more severe.
Headaches are happened with so many reasons. It is important to know what is really causing your headaches. I drink some coffee or tea when I have a headache because it usually eases my condition.
Thanks for the tips! On another note.....people should really use their spell check before posting emails.
This is superb hub.I enjoyed a lot while reading
Excellent Hub!!!!!!
The hub provide very useful information which is very necessary for obtaining a sound health. The measure as mentioned in hub like s Take a nap, Medicine, Peppermint,Drink lots of water,Get a massage are very valuable and terrifically effective. Thanks a lot for providing such an useful peace of text.
This has provided a ton of useful information! I suffer from headaches constantly. I think a lot of people don't realize that caffeine is a drug and can cause those negative affects, like headaches. A website that I have come across that I have ordered several things from that has helped me immeasurably is http://www.mynaturalmarket.com It has been so great to be able to order things that have helped me so much.
I love my coffee and can't do without it. As you said in the beginning, one of the best ways to get rid of a caffeine headache is to simply have a bit of caffeine - for me, that's a cup of coffee. On occassion, I've tried to quit drinking coffee because I know I'm an addict and don't like the idea of being addicted to anything. However, I've found that it's just not worth it for me to try to quit. As long as I drink coffee in moderation, I don't get headaches, I'm happy and all is good!
I have suffered serverve headaches on a daily or a least a weekly basis since i was as young as 10 years old. The caffinated drink i drunk then was black tea with a small amount of milk. I never drank coffee until i was 30. Now I'm 40 and i drink alot of coffee to keep this caffine headache at bay. Who would have ever thought that the small amount of caffine in black tea could cause so much pain.
I have been in hospital with back pain and the dr had put me on a detox programme which means I have to cut out caffeine all together. This is my 3rd without caffeine and I am in such a bad way. My head feels as though it is about to explode. I have slept for hours on end as I can't keep my eyes open. I am determined to do this but believe me I was drinking at least 10 cups a day and I never thought it would feel this bad. It just shows me that if it affects my body in this way now withdrawing what damage has caffeine done long term. I will be checking every label now in the supermarket as I do not want my children to go through what I am right now. Good luck everybody. I am sorry I have no tips but my consultant said water water and water .
It's kind of ironic that Excedrin works very well for me in ridding headaches. A medication which uses caffeine to help.
Granted I'm not trying to cure a "caffeine headache"
Just found that interesting.
Ive tried to quit caffeine several times after realising i literally had a dependancy. It wasnt nice and certainly didnt go smoothly but now i can take it or leave it. This is a great hub and is very useful! thanks! Voted up.
A doctor a long time ago gave me the trick on how to kick your caffeine addiction. Simply buy a small bottle of Excedrin then on day #1 stop your intake of caffeine and take one Excedrin. The next day use a knife/razor to slice off 1/8 of an Excedrin and take the remaining 7/8 of the pill. Repeat each day by slicing off an extra 1/8 of the Excedrin (i.e. day 3=6/8, day 4 =5/8, day 5=4/8, etc) and once you get down to where you take 1/8 of an Excedrin pill you are done and you will be caffeine free without headaches.
It worked for me.
I've recently got in to the habit of having a morning Cappuccino without fail. This is usually followed by 2 or 3 teas for the rest of the work day.
Hopefully my intake isn't too high; I don't drink caffeine when I'm not working, so this should reduce thed dependancy!
I have been drinking coffee daily for 8 years. At the beginning of Feb. I decided to cut it out, and am now on day 19 of no coffee and am still getting terrible headaches. These headaches have kept me up at night and have made me tired and irritable during the day... it is no fun at all. I've been taking Excedrin everyday which helps, and am trying to only take it when i'm absolutely desperate. But one night when my headache woke me up, I was trying everything to get rid of it; water, pressure points... and the thing that ended up working was putting my heating pad on my head. I'd press it up against my temples and the back of my neck and it helped immensely.
Great hub, Kathryn. I sometimes get caffeine headaches and although I'm not trying to actively give up caffeine it's good to have some tips on how to get rid of them without drinking more tea all the time!
Great Hub!! Recently I decide to getting rid of my usually 3 or 4 daily coffees. For a day and a night I have had headache ( that I never had before in my life! ). Now after a week without coffee I feel very good, and in the morning I do not feel sleepy as I was afraid to be.
I'm a coffee addict. I sort of can't imagine getting up in the morning without my coffee in bed, first. However, I switched to decaf recently and surprisingly never felt any withdrawal symptoms. I'm a little surprised you didn't mention drinking decaffeinated coffee as a substitute in your article.
I drink lots of coffee i get up 2am every day and if i miss that first cup i have a major headache so i make freakin sure i stop in the morning and i'm fine
was wondering if anyone knew if caffeine withdraws can make you sweat and feel sick to your stomach ? I was drinking 4 monster energy drinks a day and i cut down to 1 and getting really bad head aches. I also found that my legal natural medicine i smoke takes it away after 2nd puffs. My doc here in Cali said its cause it relaxes me. I also have sever depression that hits me hard sometimes but i am on meds for that. How can u tell if you have diabetes from caffeine ?
You have no idea how uncomfortable it feels after drinking too much coffee/tea.
This helps though,I'm gonna try these tricks right away.
Great and interesting hub.
I need to follow the tips here, as I currently can't start the day without a big caffeine boost. I always automatically reach for a coffee when I start to get the headaches in the morning.
I recenly had to give up caffeine due to heart palpitations and chest pain. Now I suffer from serious headaches nightly. I have been left with no choice, I prefer the headaches to the chest pain but the withdrawl is awful. I have tried everything but at the end of the day - some over the counter meds and a good nights sleep seem to help. It is a long hard road. I am now on day 5. I miss my coffee :(
Dispirin seems to reduce the headaches - on day 7 without coffee
An ice pack sometimes helps.
I love my coffee so so sooooooo much!!! i'm trying a detox to help me with a few things and the headache i have is just not funny:-( this is day one of the detox and i have a month to go. go away headache!!!!
mini-mela 3 years ago
Thanks! This really helps...