The past week has been busy for the FDA. Last week they held a two-day meeting discussing Tylenol acetaminophen) overdose and what can be done to improve patient safety. Acetaminophen is a popular pain reliever that is often used alone, but is in a lot of combination products, notably over-the-counter cold remedies and prescription pain killers such as Percocet and Vicodin. One of the problems, according to many experts, is that patients are unaware of how much acetaminophen is in each of these medications so they are taking more than the maximum daily dose, which is 4000 mg for most adults. Michael Ashburn, director of pain medicine and palliative care at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, says that since the components of Percocet (oxycodone and acetaminophen) are available separately, maybe they should be prescribed independently as well. This would be one way to ensure patients are aware of their dosages.

Just yesterday the FDA issued a press release about Darvocet, another acetaminophen-containing product. It has been linked to fatal overdoses, especially in the elderly, so the FDA will soon require that it carry a "black box" warning, emphasizing the potential for overdose.

Since so many headache sufferers are on these pain relievers it will be interesting and important to watch and follow where we are headed. Pulling these drugs off the market is one potential outcome, and should it come to that, there will be a lot of patients looking for alternatives.

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If you have migraines are you at greater risk of suffering a stroke? It's not entirely evident at this point, but a recent study on migraines noted that women who have migraines with aura in their "middle years" are more likely to have brain lesions later in life. Men don't seem to have the same association, nor do women who have other migraine variants. Researchers are careful to say that although there seems to be a link, they aren't sure what it all means at this point. What is always true is that it is important to discuss your symptoms and concerns with your health care provider so you can best evaluate and treat your migraines and headaches.

What else should women with migraines know?

What are the important headache warning signs you should be aware of?

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Caffeine has long been thought to have a connection with migraine headaches. Caffeine is a common component of over-the-counter and prescription headache remedies. Withdrawal from regular use has been associated with increased migraines. Now researchers are continuing to make discoveries about how caffeine and migraines are related.

A recent study coming out of Norway looked into heavy and lighter use of caffeine and how it relates to headaches. What they found was interesting, if not a bit confusing in the end. High caffeine consumption was "weakly associated" with an increase in infrequent headaches. Lower use seemed to cause an increase in frequent headaches. Also, non-migraine headaches were more likely to be connected to caffeine than migraines.

In the end, no one is quite sure what to make of all the information. In fact, the research team had this to say:

The results may indicate that high caffeine consumption changes chronic headache into infrequent headache due to the analgesic properties of caffeine. Alternatively, chronic headache sufferers have reduced the intake of coffee and tea to avoid worsening, whereas individuals with infrequent headache may be less aware that high caffeine use can cause headache.

The bottom line is you need to pay attention to how caffeine affects you as an individual and see if there are other triggers you can eliminate or reduce to improve your health.

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This week is National Headache Awareness Week, and I saw an article that reminded me of an important fact about migraines: a lot of kids get headaches. The National Headache Foundation (NHF) reports that nearly 20 percent of all kids ages 5-17 suffer from headaches. Most of these children have tension-type headaches, but many also have migraines. Children usually have similar triggers to adults, but they usually have a more difficult time dealing with them. One of the most important things you can do as a parent is understand about the different types of headaches so you can start to understand what it is affecting your child. Kids with headaches can also take the time to educate themselves about what they can do to prevent and treat headaches when they start.

The NHF has two sites that can start to make a difference. The first is called Headache Headstart, and it is a place children can go to learn all about headaches and what they can do to help themselves. The other is called Headache U. This is a site where anyone can start to gain a headache education one step at a time. Both are excellent resources to supplement any other research you are doing. Start learning today what you can do to help your children better function and cope with headaches.

Start to understand how headaches affect children.

What should you know about treating headaches in children?

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