This document discusses the management of headaches through various approaches including home remedies, drug classifications, counseling, and preventive treatment. It outlines several home remedies for headaches like ginger, essential oils, and cold compresses. It describes classes of drugs used to treat headaches like NSAIDs, opioids, ergot alkaloids, triptans, and fixed dose combinations. The document provides counseling points for these drug classes and discusses considerations for migraine preventive therapy.

1. PHARMACY PRACTICE
PROFESSION PRESENTATION HEADACHES
BY Pharmtects
LWEENDO HAMUDUDU 2021011359
SINAI MWALE 2021011509
JOSEPH MUTOYA 2021011582
EMILY PHIRI 2021010691
JIMMY MWANAKAMPWE 2019010875
CHAMBWA MUWEZWA 2021011475
KANYEMBA MUSAKA 2021010238
METHEWS MBAZIMA 2021011070
ALBERT CHISHIMBA 2021010587
MWAKA NYONI 2021011906
PETER MWAMBA 2022011731
10/6/2023 1

2. QUESTIONS
• Discuss the Approach to the management of headaches
Using Home remedies
classifications of drugs class and examples on headachs
 counselling disease, conditions, patients on headach
conclusion

3. HOME REMEDIES
These are simply prepared natural treatments or substances taken to give a feeling of
physical strength, good health and well-being.
They are often of unproven effectiveness administered, without prescription or
professional supervision that are given mostly HOME or anywhere when needed to
relief headaches

4. • Take some ginger
• Ginger root contains many beneficial
compounds, including antioxidants
and anti-inflammatory substances
(57Trusted Source).
• A 2021 review that included three
randomized control trials found that
treatment with ginger supplements
helped reduce pain in people with
migraine
• What’s more, the ginger treatments
helped reduce nausea and vomiting,
common symptoms associated with
severe headaches

5. • Skipped meals or too many hours between them is a common tension headaches and
can trigger migraines, Low blood glucose caused by not eating can also cause a
headache that is not part of a migraine attack.
• While it’s true that planning healthy meals and snacks takes effort, as does making
sure you eat them at regular intervals, the payoff of that effort is more energy and
potentially fewer headaches or migraine attacks.
• Since even mild to moderate dehydration can be a trigger/cause for a migraine attack
or tention headache, get in the habit of having water available to drink at all times,
particularly during exercise.
Eat Regularly and Avoid Dehydration to Help Prevent Headache and
Migraine

6. • Try essential oils
• Essential oils are highly concentrated liquids
that contain aromatic compounds from a variety
of plants.
• They have many therapeutic benefits and are
most often used topically, though some can be
ingested.
• Research suggests that peppermint, lavender,
and eucalyptus essential oils are especially
helpful when you have a headache
• If you experience frequent headaches, try
diffusing essential oils or rubbing a small
amount of an essential oil, like peppermint or
lavender oil, mixed with a carrier oil, like jojoba,
onto your wrists or temples

7. • drinking certain beverages — may offer some relief from migraine attacks. Tea
and decaf coffee may reduce inflammation, while juices, milk, and green
smoothies can deliver essential nutrients that may reduce migraine episodes
• Caffeine improves mood, increases alertness, and constricts blood vessels, all of
which can have a positive effect on headache symptoms

8. • Soothe pain with a cold compress
• Using a cold compress may help reduce your headache symptoms.
• Applying cold or frozen compresses to your neck or head area decreases
inflammation, slows nerve conduction, and constricts blood vessels, all of
which could help reduce headache pain

9. `Avoid nitrates and nitrites
• Nitrates and nitrites are food preservatives commonly added
to items like hot dogs, sausages, and bacon to keep them fresh
by preventing bacterial growth.
• Foods containing them have been shown to trigger headaches
in some people
• Nitrites may trigger headaches by causing the expansion of
blood vessels
• In order to minimize your exposure to nitrites, limit the
amount of processed meats in your diet and choose nitrate-
free products whenever possible.

10. • While having an alcoholic drink may not cause a headache in most
people, studies have shown that alcohol can trigger migraines in about
one-third of those who experience frequent headaches
• Alcohol intake is also a risk factor for tension headaches and for cluster
headaches, which are among the most severe types of headache
Limit alcohol

11. DRUGS CLASSES USED IN MANAGEMENT OF
HEADACHES WITH EXAMPLES
• Management and treatment aims to reverse,
or at least stop, the progression of a headache
that has started.
• Preventive treatment, which is given even in
the absence of a headache, aims to reduce the
frequency and severity of the migraine attack,
make acute attacks more responsive to
abortive therapy, and perhaps also improve
the patient's quality of life

12. • Simple analgesics alone or in combination with other compounds have
provided relief for mild to moderately severe headaches and sometimes even
for severe headaches. Examples include Aspirin, ibuprofen, diclofenac,
• Aspirin 600 mg po
• Diclofenac 50 mg or 100 mg po
• Ibuprofen 200 mg or 400 mg po
• Paracetamol 500 mg

13. COUNSELING ON NSAIDS
• Advice the patient to take the medication as instructed by the
pharmacist/ pharmacy technicians such as Aspirin 600mg 3 times a
day orally .
• 2. The patient to take the medication (NSAIDs) 30 minutes to an hour
after eating food to prevent the stomach upsets, heart burn
• 3. Avoid alcohol Combining ibuprofen and alcohol can raise your risk
for serious side effects, such as gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and
kidney or liver problems. It’s best to wait at least 10 hours after taking
a dose spof ibuprofen to drink alcohol
• 4. Asprin should not be given to children below the age of 12 and its
should not be used in pregnant wowen

14. • Aviod taking paracetamol for a long time becouse the chronic use of
paracetamol can cause liver toxicity
• NSAIDS (asprin) should not be used if someone has Gouts and
headache it will increase more risk of gout attack
continous

15. OPIOD ANALGESICS
• -
• Opiod analgesics refers to medications that act on the opiod receptors and are used for
severe pain relief E.g severe Migraine headache.
• DRUG'S
• Tramadol
• morphine
• -codeine
• Note:The selection of opiods is influenced by pain intersity, previous adversy drug effects
and presence of co existing disease.

16. ERGOT ALKALOIDS
• ERGOT ALKALOIDS
• -These are drug's used to treat severe and throbbing headaches such
as Migraine and cluster headache.
• -They are usually used for patients whose headaches are not relieved
by acetaminophen, aspirin or other pain killers.
• DRUG'S
• -Ergotamine -used in acute migraine
• -methysergide -used in migraine prophelaxis

17. conuseling on ergot and opiods analgesics
• on opioids is
• 1. Don't overdose or overuse the codeine it might end up causing
addiction nd also cause constipation to you and also cause drowsiness
• 2. ertogs causing nausea and vomiting so when taking them u have to
also take antihistamines to avoid vomiting or drowsiness
• 3.u don't have to take these drugs on an empty stomach coz u might
end up causing problem to your health and the two classes of drugs are
contraindicated in pregnancy and children like babies coz remember
there is junior caffino
• U should have enough rest after taking the drugs nd should not be
working.

18. ANTI EMETICS AND COUSELLING
• these can be used in Nausea associated with migraine attacks
• 1. Prokinetics
• e.g Metroclopramide and domperidon
• promotes gastric emptying and normal peristalsis
• best used in pregnancy nousea and vomitting
• S/E avoid prolonge use. causes menstrual disturbances in women.
• metroclopromide 10mg TDS.
• 2. Anti histamines
• promethazine, chropheniramine and diphenhydramine
• has anti cholinergics effects
• recommended for mortion sickness
• best used with paracetamol
• S/E drowsiness, constipation,sedation etc

19. emmetics continuation
• 3. Anticholinergic
• Hyoscine ( mortion sickness)...
• tends to have a high sedative effect with atropine like effects
• S/E reduced secreations causing
• 1. sandy eyes , dry mouth and reduced GIT perfomance
• 4. Selective 5HT3 antagonist ondasetrone and granisentron (
vommiting induced by cytotoxic drugs? e.g merthysergide and
egotamine

20. • Triptans act as ant migraine agents by selectively binding to
the serotonin receptors 5-HT1B and 5-HT1D. Thereby
causing cerebral vasoconstriction and reduction of the pain
caused by vasodilatation.
• Examples of triptans are Sumatriptan, almotriptan, eletriptan,
rizatriptan, zolmitriptan
• They are used in treatment of cluster headache and migraine.
• Sumatriptan 50mg – 100mg with 300mg max dose a day
Triptans

21. Fixed doses combination
• Brustan- ibuprofen 400mg and paracetamol 325
• Valus- Aceclofenac 100mg and paracetamol 325 mg
• Powergesic- diclofenac 500mg and paracetamol 335mg CH
• Ibucap- caffeine 30mg, brufen 400mg and paracetamol 325mg

22. counselling
• Triptans should not be taken together with Antidepressants such as
amitripine (because Sumatriptan because they reduce the effects of
Antidepressants)
• They should be taken 30 min before a meal or 2 hours after a meal.
• For fixed dose combinations with NSAIDs should not be taken on an
empty stomach to avoid peptic ulcers.
• Avoid fixed dose combination in patients with peptic ulcers, gastro
oesophageal reflux disease
• Sumatriptan should be avoided in hypertensive patients and in
myocardial infarction...

23. • Preventive medication therapy reduces migraine frequency, severity, and headache-related distress.
• 1.Beta-Blockers: Originally were developed to treat hypertension (high blood pressure), these are
used in the first line of migraine prophylaxis propranolol and timolol can be used
• 2 Anticonvulsants: Also sometimes referred to as membrane stabilizers, they're primarily
prescribed to prevent seizures. Depakote and Topamax are recommended for migraine prophylaxis
• 3 Antidepressants: Tricyclic antidepressants, only amitriptyline has shown effectiveness in
preventing migraine.
• 4 Calcium-channel blockers:
• These include diltiazem and verapamil . They ease the narrowing of your blood vessels.
• 5. NSAIDs and triptans: NSAIDs Like naproxen and triptans eg. zolmitriptan are used to prevent
menstrual-related migraine attacks starting preventive therapy before the time of expected migraine
onset.
• 6 . Fluranizine has been considered to be effective for migraine prevention in children, and also
cyproheptadine has proven to be effective in migraine prophylaxis.
•

24. • Considerations for migraine prophylaxis
• 1. If frequency of migraine attack is more than 2 per month
• 2. Duration of individual attack is longer than 24hours
• 3. Headache that leads to major disruption in the patients lifestyle,
with significant disability that last 3 or more days
• 4. Abortive therapy fails or over used.

25. • Calcuim channel blockers should not be given in hypotensive patients
because they can cause hypotension and constipation
• The patient should be cautioned on driving heavy machinery when they
are taking cyproheptadine because it causes CNS depression,
drowsiness, sedation ranging from mild drowsiness to deep sleep

26. •THE END
•THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
•GROUP 3