If you have an occasional headache, aspirin and ibuprofen are useful treatments, but if taken more than twice a week, there is the risk that your headaches could become worse and more frequent (so-called rebound headaches). Other options for treating these, and migraines, include:

PINPOINT THE CAUSE

Regular headaches are often the result of a trigger — it could be your experience at work, a particular food or even a smell. Keep a diary of what you have been doing, where, and who was there before each attack. Common food triggers include processed meats, ripened cheeses, monosodium glutamate and nuts.Eighty per cent of people who think they have sinus headaches actually have migraine, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. If you suffer from regular headaches, facial pain and congestion, migraine treatment may help — see www.headachequiz.com .

ACUPUNCTURE

A study published in the BMJ last year recommended that acupuncture should be available on the NHS to treat migraine. www.acupuncture.org.uk

CHANGE YOUR DIET

Riboflavin or vitamin B2 may help to protect against migraine. Those who took 400mg (the RDA is 1.6mg) found that after three months the frequency of attacks fell on average by 50 per cent , according to a study in the European Journal of Neurology.Caffeine may cause headaches: regular coffee drinkers are less likely to have headaches than occasional ones and some studies have shown that a single cup of strong coffee, which is a vasoconstrictor, can get rid of mild headaches (caused by sudden expansion of blood vessels). But caffeine is also regarded as the number one trigger.

HERBAL REMEDIES

Butterbur is used in Germany to treat migraines. Trials have shown that an extract of the root can reduce symptoms and attacks by 40 per cent. Butterbur is thought to work by reducing spasms in muscle tissues, including blood vessels. However, there are concerns about possible liver damage.Feverfew is an antiinflammatory that can ease pain and may reduce the severity, duration and frequency of migraine attacks.

STATIC MAGNETS

These iron-attracting magnets have long been used to treat pain, possibly by working on iron molecules in the blood to improve circulation. See www.nccam.nih.gov/health/magnet/magnet.htm#appendix3

BOTOX

An Ohio plastic surgeon found that the anti-wrinkle treatment also improved his patient’s migraines. Research has shown that patients who suffered a headache at least 15 days a month found that this fell to 4.2 a month if they had an injection shot every three months. Some clinics in the UK offer it.