Coffee for your headache? Why not?

MANILA, Philippines - Caffeine is almost definitely the most widely known chemical stimulant in the world. To many, a cup of coffee is synonymous to waking up in the morning, or to staying awake during late hours to beat a deadline. There are those who swear that their IQs are directly proportional to the amount of caffeine in their bloodstream. It isn’t just old wives’ tale either; caffeine is a proven neuro-stimulant, as well as a metabolic stimulant.

Caffeine naturally occurs in coffee, chocolate, coca (used to make cola), and tea. These are all consumed voraciously worldwide. It would seem from a flavor standpoint that caffeine tastes pretty great. Recent findings show that caffeine has another surprising benefit: It is a mild natural analgesic; what’s more, when combined with some other analgesics, caffeine significantly enhances the pain-relieving efficacy of those analgesics, particularly with common analgesics such as paracetamol and aspirin.

Caffeine is an active ingredient in many well-known analgesic brands abroad. In the Philippines, only Saridon (paracetamol, propyphenazone, and caffeine), a headache tablet manufactured by Bayer, contains caffeine.