英國國家衛生與臨床優化研究所近期發布的頭痛治療指南指出，過度服用止痛片是頭痛久治不愈的源頭，甚至會加重病情，患者應該停止對止痛片的依賴。世界衛生組織的數據顯示，因過度服用藥物導致的頭痛患者占所有頭痛患者的5%。華威醫學院教授馬丁?安德伍德表示，用止痛片在解決頭痛問題可能會陷入一個惡性循環，頭痛越厲害，服用的止痛片越多，結果導致頭痛更加嚴重。至于止痛片為何會對頭痛患者有如此影響，目前尚無從得知。不過，英國國立神經內外科醫院一位神經科醫生表示，頭痛患者每月服用止痛片達到10至15天時通常會出現上述惡性循環情況。在頭痛治療指南中，醫學專家們建議頭痛患者停止服用止痛片，提前進行預防性治療，并建議用針灸來治療頭痛。另外，專家們還建議患者不要為了“確信沒有長腦瘤”而做腦部掃描檢查。他們表示，腦瘤通常會伴有行為類變化等其他癥狀。

Up to a million people in the UK have "completely preventable" severe headaches caused by taking too many painkillers, doctors said.

Up to a million people in the UK have "completely preventable" severe headaches caused by taking too many painkillers, doctors said.

They said some were trapped in a "vicious cycle" of taking pain relief, which then caused even more headaches.

The warning came as part of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) first guidelines for treating headaches.

"Medication overuse headaches" feel the same as other common headaches or migraines.

There is no definitive UK data on the incidence of the condition, but studies in other countries suggest 1-2% of people are affected, while the World Health Organization says figures closer to 5% have been reported.

While painkillers would be many people's instant response, they could be making sufferers feel even worse.

Prof Martin Underwood, from Warwick Medical School, who led the panel, said: "This can end up getting into a vicious cycle where your headache gets worse, so you take more painkillers, so your headache gets worse and this just becomes worse and worse and worse.

"It is such an easy thing to prevent."

Exactly how painkillers have this effect on the brain is unknown.

Most of the people affected are thought to have started with either everyday, tension-type headaches or migraines. The headaches then became worse as they treated themselves at home.

Manjit Matharu, a consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, said there was a tipping point at 10 to 15 days of using pain relief each month when the drugs became the issue.

He said: "This is a huge problem in the population. The figures in terms of the number of people who have medication overuse headache are one in 50, so that is approximately a million people who have headaches on a daily or near daily basis because they're using painkillers."

People with a family history of tension-type headaches or migraine may also be genetically more vulnerable to medication overuse headaches. They could be susceptible when taking pain relief even if it is not for headaches.

The new guidelines for doctors in England and Wales advise telling sufferers to immediately stop taking all pain relief. However, this will lead to about a month of agony as patients contend with regular headaches without pain relief, until symptoms eventually improve.

The panel said other options for controlling any underlying headaches, such as preventative treatments, could be considered.

The guidelines also include a recommendation for acupuncture in patients susceptible to migraine and tension headaches.

"We would expect that to lead to more people getting acupuncture, but given there is good evidence to show this is effective for the prevention of both tension-type and migraine-type headaches then that is a good thing because people are getting access to an effective treatment," Underwood said.

Doctors have also been asked not to refer patients for brain scans "solely for reassurance" that they do not have a brain tumor. The panel said a tumor would come with other symptoms such as a change in behavior or epilepsy.

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(Agencies)

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen ）