I hear this question far too often not to address it properly right away
And the answer may disappoint you:
- There is no “magic universal pill” — everything is individual
- It depends entirely on what type of headache you actually have
If we’re talking about the most common benign headaches:
Tension-type headache (TTH)
- Pressing, squeezing, “like a tight band” around the head
- Usually bilateral
- Develops gradually, worsens during the day, moderate intensity
- No significant nausea or vomiting, at most mild light sensitivity
What helps
- NSAIDs: ibuprofen, naproxen, etc
- The “best medication and dose” must be chosen individually
Important: do not take them more than 10 times a month to avoid medication-overuse headache.
Migraine
- Often one-sided, pulsating
- Usually quite intense
- Worsens with activity, bending, exertion
- Accompanied by nausea, light sensitivity, sound and smell intolerance
- May begin with aura: zigzags, flashes, numbness
What helps
- NSAIDs (for moderate pain) or triptans
Important: triptans vary (sumatriptan, zolmitriptan, rizatriptan, etc), and each patient responds differently. It’s highly individual.
❓If the pain doesn’t look like TTH or migraine
This is a reason to see a doctor. Sometimes it’s a rare primary headache (e.g., cluster headache). Sometimes it’s a secondary headache that requires further evaluation
❓What should you not take?
✖️ “Blood pressure pills” for a headache attack
Severe pain often increases blood pressure secondarily. Lowering it won’t help — you need to treat the headache, not the numbers
✖️ Glycine and other “nootropics”
No proven benefit for headaches. Just a waste of money and time
✖️ Antispasmodics
They do not work for migraine or most headaches because the mechanism is not related to smooth muscle spasm
✖️ Analgin
It may reduce pain but carries risks of serious side effects. Hardly used in modern medicine
✖️ Combined analgesics (Pentalgin, Citramon, etc)
Yes, they may help quickly, but:
✖️ increase the risk of medication-overuse headache
✖️ contain caffeine, phenobarbital or codeine — can cause dependence and overload the body
✖️ harmful with regular use for the liver, stomach and vessels
There is no universal headache pill — and that’s okay
- It’s important to understand what type of headache you have
- A doctor is needed not to “prescribe the strongest pill” but to help find your effective treatment and rule out dangerous causes
Main advice: don’t take everything in a row. It’s better to figure it out once than deal with the consequences later.