10 Best Medications for Headaches in 2022 (Advil, Tylenol, and More)
There are many kinds of headache medicines on the market, all promising fast results. They also all differ in price, which can be very confusing. Today, we’ll teach you how to choose the best headache medicine for you, with product reviews, prices, and comparisons. Our favorite was Advil—find out why below!
Quick List - Top Medications For Headaches
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How to Choose Medications For Headaches
Understand Ingredients and Choose One With Appropriate Strength
There are five main ingredients in OTC headache medicines on the market: aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, and a combination of aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine. Each ingredient comes with its own side effects, so always read the label.
Select “Fast-Acting” Medications When You’re Unable to Rest or Work
Note: Acetaminophen is a common ingredient in cold medicine. If you’re already taking cold medicine, check the ingredients before taking any additional acetaminophen, as a combination of the two would lead to an overdose.
Three other fast-acting ingredients are ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, and caffeine. Ibuprofen and naproxen sodium both work within 30 minutes. But while Aleve (naproxen sodium) offers pills that are strong enough to last 12 hours, ibuprofen pills tend to wear off more quickly.
Aspirin is also great because it’s a fast-acting analgesic (pain reliever) that can wipe away your headache immediately during work or before a night out on the town. And why is caffeine a third fast-acting ingredient in headache medicine? Right before a headache, blood vessels enlarge. Caffeine causes these vessels to narrow—blood flow is restricted and your headache goes away.
Whichever primary ingredient you choose, keep in mind that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen sodium can cause ulcers in the stomach or irritation of the stomach lining, so use these with caution and always talk with your doctor about any concerns.
Use Stomach-Friendly Headache Medicines to Prevent Stomach Issues
For stronger relief, your doctor can prescribe you Fentanyl, whose main ingredient is ethenzamide. Remember always that ethenzamide is an extremely powerful ingredient and should only be used as directed and when prescribed by a physician. Since it’s not an OTC medication, it won’t be discussed more in detail here, so speak to your physician if you have any questions.
If You Have Both Pain and a Fever, We Recommend “Antipyretic Analgesics”
“Antipyretic” merely means “preventing or reducing fever.” These medicines are NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as ibuprofen and aspirin. NSAIDs will not only take away your pain, but also reduce your fever, as they are key anti-inflammatory agents. Big names in ibuprofen are Motrin and Advil; Bayer is a top name in aspirin.
Ibuprofen, since it’s a fever-reducer, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic, is a triple threat for your headaches because it also reduces fever and swelling. Just remember to take with caution, as it’s good for your head but rough on your stomach. Also, don’t take any medication with sleep-inducing ingredients (read the label), as that would affect your ability to work and drive.
Choose Between Ingredients According to Your Symptoms
However, medications with both sedatives and analgesics cause drowsiness. If you’re going to be taking medication at school or work, choose one with no sedatives in the ingredients list. Also, if you’re taking a headache medicine and your stomach becomes painful, start taking antacids and consult with your doctor about switching to a different headache medicine.
Antacids will suppress stomach upset. The main ingredients are calcium carbonate, magnesium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, sodium bicarbonate, or a combination of these—check the ingredient list before taking to make sure there won’t be any unwelcome side effects.
Always Consult With Your Doctor If You Are or Could Be Pregnant
For Children, Always Check Age-Appropriate Dosages
Before giving headache medicine to a child, check the label. This will typically tell you if you can give a smaller amount of a medicine to a child, if you need to consult a doctor first, or if you need the children’s version of the medication. Regular medicines take into account the body size of an adult, and so should never be given freely to children.
10 Best Medications For Headaches Ranking
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Advil Advil | | Effective Pain Relief with a 30-Year Track Record | |
2 | Tylenol Tylenol Extra Strength | | Trusted Name, Expected Relief | |
3 | Bayer Bayer | | Safety-Coated Tablets Easy on the Stomach | |
4 | Motrin Motrin IB | | Tough Pain Reliever and Fever Reducer | |
5 | Aleve Aleve Liquid Gels with Naproxen Sodium | | Easy-to-Swallow Gel Tabs Bring Quick Relief | |
6 | Excedrin Excedrin Migraine | | Trusty Name Brand Keeps Working Strong | |
7 | Goody's Goody’s Extra Strength Powder | | Easily Dissolving Powder Works Fast | |
8 | Sudafed Sudafed Pressure + Pain | | Small Caplets Shoo Away Sinus Headaches | |
9 | Equate Equate Headache Relief | | Quick and Affordable Headache Relief | |
10 | BC BC Aspirin Powder | | Quick Relief for Headaches and Body Aches |
Effective Pain Relief with a 30-Year Track Record
The biggest drawback for Advil is the same for any ibuprofen product—the stomach issues ibuprofen can cause. Apart from that, Advil works fast, is long-lasting, and the small circular pills are much easier to swallow than those from other brands. It’s a dependable choice for regular to slightly more severe headaches.
Trusted Name, Expected Relief
Some studies have linked Tylenol to high blood pressure in women, so exercise extra caution if you’re female or generally have higher blood pressure or both. Other than that, there’s not much bad to say about Tylenol, evidenced by its high sales performance and rankings on the market.
Safety-Coated Tablets Easy on the Stomach
The biggest downside of Bayer 325 mg is its delayed action–although it works very well, it does take time for you to feel its effects. Because of that, if you feel a crushing headache coming on, you might want to try another option first.
Tough Pain Reliever and Fever Reducer
The main ingredient in Motrin is ibuprofen, which should be avoided by anyone with stomach issues. Ibuprofen can also cause nausea, vomiting, or rash, so stop using and talk with your doctor if you develop any of these, and use only as directed.
Easy-to-Swallow Gel Tabs Bring Quick Relief
There’s not much to criticize here, although you should be careful ordering online. Since the tabs are filled with liquid, you run the risk of all of them melting together on the trip to your house. You’ll also want to be more careful to keep these at room temperature always, for the same reason.
Trusty Name Brand Keeps Working Strong
Remember to stay away from this product if you have stomach issues, and perhaps try Goody’s or BC if you really want to avoid the pills. But if you can get past that, Excedrin is one of the most trusted names on the market.
Easily Dissolving Powder Works Fast
Like BC Powder, Goody’s also contains acetaminophen, caffeine, and aspirin, which makes it a no-go for anyone with stomach issues. If you’re sensitive to artificial sweeteners, Goody’s probably isn’t your choice, as the powder contains two of them.
Small Caplets Shoo Away Sinus Headaches
As caplets, some say these are easier to swallow than capsules, but may still present an issue for people with issues forcing things down their throats. The main ingredient, acetaminophen, doesn’t have many side effects, but be sure to take as directed to avoid liver damage.
Quick and Affordable Headache Relief
The downside of this item is that they’re caplets, so they might not be the best option for those who struggle swallowing pills. However, a bit of persistence and a lot of water might make this worth the effort. Talk with your doctor if you’re worried about side effects from any of the ingredients.
Quick Relief for Headaches and Body Aches
As with all aspirins, the general side effects could include heartburn, ulcers, or gastrointestinal bleeding. However, this is typically only when aspirin is overused; discuss any side effect concerns with your doctor, and never give regular aspirin to children.
Things to Look Out for When Using Headache Medication
Don’t Overdose, and Drink Water
The most important thing to remember when taking any medication is: pay attention to the label. To avoid an overdose, take only the amount of pills recommended, and only as often as the label says. And be careful what you take it with—your safest bet is water, as alcohol, coffee, or juice with pain medication could cause serious side effects such as excessively slowed breathing or kidney issues.
If you feel a headache coming on after drinking coffee, wait at least 30 minutes before taking headache medication. Since it takes about 45 minutes for caffeine to be absorbed into the small intestine, you need to wait that long before taking medicine for effects to really kick in.
Take Medicine at Pain Onset, But Be Careful with Migraines
Just take care if you have migraines. Most headache medicines aren’t suited for migraines; instead, they’re typically directed towards “tension headaches.” Tension headaches are often caused by decreased blood flow and stress, etc., whereas the cause and effects of migraines are a bit different. For this reason, look for medicines marked “migraine,” such as Excedrin Migraine above.
Take Care of Your Health
Though we've gone over headache medicines for pain relief, there are other tools that you can use to improve your overall well-being and reduce aches. Check out these guides below or other articles on our site to see more.
Top 5 Medications For Headaches
No. 1: Advil｜Advil
No. 2: Tylenol｜Tylenol Extra Strength
No. 3: Bayer｜Bayer
No. 4: Motrin｜Motrin IB
No. 5: Aleve｜Aleve Liquid Gels with Naproxen Sodium
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
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