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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTreatment differs, depending on whether you have primary or secondary cough headaches.
Primary cough headache
If you have a history of primary cough headaches, your doctor may recommend that you take daily medication to help prevent or reduce the pain.
These preventive medications may include:
- Indomethacin, an anti-inflammatory drug
- Acetazolamide, a diuretic that reduces the production of spinal fluid
Rarely, a spinal tap (lumbar puncture) may be recommended. With this procedure, the doctor removes some of the fluid that surrounds your brain and spinal cord. This may help reduce the pressure inside your skull that may be causing the headaches.
Secondary cough headache
If you have secondary cough headaches, surgery is often needed to correct the underlying problem. Preventive medications usually don't help people who have secondary cough headaches. However, responding to medication doesn't mean that you have a primary cough headache.
- Cutrer FM. Primary cough headache. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 5, 2009.
- Pasqual J. Other primary headaches. Neurologic Clinics. 2009;27:557.
- Chiari malformation fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chiari/detail_chiari.htm. Accessed Dec. 6, 2009.
- Headache: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/headache/detail_headache.htm#142883138. Accessed Dec. 7, 2009.
- Bartleson JD (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 30, 2009.
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