According to a series of international papers, there is a critical need to review current treatment strategies for the increasingly common problem of medication overuse headaches (MOH).
MOH, previously known as rebound headache, drug-induced headache or drug-misuse headache, is a headache that occurs at least 15 days a month when patients overuse medication.
In the U.S., 60 percent of people with chronic daily headaches attending headache clinics have MOH. Data from a physician study suggests that it may be the third most frequent type of headache, after migraines and tension headaches.
Research has found that people are seven times more likely to suffer from chronic headaches if they use analgesics daily or almost daily for more than a month. But there are no standardized treatment guidelines for MOH.