Diseases and Conditions

Medication overuse headaches

Risk factors

Risk factors for developing medication overuse headaches include:

  • History of chronic headaches. A history of chronic headaches, especially migraines, puts you at risk.
  • Frequent use of headache medications. Your risk increases if you use combination analgesics, ergotamine or triptans 10 or more days a month or simple analgesics more than 15 days a month — especially if this regular use continues for three or more months.