Eli5: Why is caffeine often recommended for headache relief?
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When you’re having a headache, blood vessels change in such a way that there’s an increase in blood flow around the brain. This puts pressure on surrounding nerves, which causes the pain you feel.
Caffeine causes the blood vessels to narrow, so they aren’t pressing on those nerves. And when you take it with pain meds, it helps those meds work faster and better. That’s why Excedrin has aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine.
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