Headaches are one of the most common forms of chronic pain (second only to back troubles). Anyone who's suffered the splitting pain of a headache — especially a migraine knows how difficult it can be to drive, work, and even carry on a conversation while your head is pounding.

But when a headache strikes, you can do more than just crawl into bed and wait for it to go away. There are effective headache treatments available and ways to find quick relief. Headache Treatment: Medications

Just about any over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever can offer relief for non-migraine headaches, also known as tension headaches, says Jack M. Rozental, MD, PhD, a migraine specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Medications that contain only one drug (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin) are an effective headache treatment, he says, as are those that include a combination of aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine.

For those who suffer from frequent or recurring headaches, doctors sometimes recommend prescription-strength doses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or naproxen. Indomethacin, an NSAID that is available only by prescription, is "usually used for arthritis, but can also be very useful as a headache treatment," Dr. Rozental says. "Indomethacin's downside is that it is among the drugs most likely to cause gastric irritation," including stomach ulcers and bleeding. 

• Narcotics, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, or codeine
• Butorphanol, a narcotic nasal spray
• Tramadol

Unfortunately, the risk with many of these prescription drugs is that they can lead to substance abuse and dependence, Rozental says. Butorphanol, in particular, "should be avoided because of its very high propensity to cause dependence after even minimal use," he explains.

An escaped lynx taunted zoo bosses by posing for a picture next to a trap - before refusing to take the bait and running off into the bushes.

The Eurasian lynx, called Lilleth, was seen staring at the secret camera next to a cage, but became suspicious and disappeared into darkness.

Lilleth - who has been missing for over a week - has evaded heat-seeking helicopters, zoo keepers armed with dart guns, and dozens of police officers on her trail.

She is believed to be in the land surrounding Borth Wild Animal Kingdom, near Aberystwyth, but farmers fear she could flee further afield and attack livestock. The zoo has now released pictures of Lilleth next to one of the cages set up in their hopes to catch her.

Wildlife photographer Thomas Martin said: 'It looks as though the lynx might as well be giving them the middle finger by staring straight at the camera. The camera would have been activated by a motion sensor and then flashed right at it. It may have scared the lynx away from the trap.

'It certainly documents a failed attempt at catching it!'

The zoo has been closed since Monday so staff can focus on catching Lilleth, but owner Tracy Tweedy, 46, said insisted they staff are getting closer to catching her.

She said experts were using: 'Old fashioned tracking skills and modern technology working together to catch Lillith safely.

'Fingers crossed we get closer than last night.'

'The zoo will remain closed today while the hunt for Lillith continues as she evaded our traps last night, although we did get some excellent footage of her on camera.

Officers have set up dozens of bait traps in the area around the zoo, along with a funnel trap - in a bid to flush her into it.

But as a last resort trained marksmen are on hand with dart guns to shoot and sedate the cat dubbed the Beast of Borth.

Tracy bought the £625,000 zoo with husband Dean, 48, just a year ago.

Dyfed-Powys Police say the lynx could become aggressive if it is cornered and are urging the public to be vigilant.

Dean and Tracy left their house in Kent to start a new life 300 miles away to share a home with 300 animals.

The parents, along with daughters Paige, eight, Sarah, nine, and 13-year-old Sophie, also have snakes, lions and crocodiles. 

A devout Christian accused of carrying out female genital mutilation on his own daughter has appeared in court.

The 49-year-old, who is of African descent, faces two charges under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 relating to one child and three counts of child cruelty relating to three of his other children.

He denied all the charges against him at a plea and trial preparation hearing at Woolwich Crown Court.  he defendant, from south London, is said to have committed FGM on one of his daughters between 2010 and 2013.

The child cruelty charges date from February 2009 and December 2016 for two of his children, and May 2011 and December 2016 for another. FGM is illegal in the UK and it is also illegal to take a female abroad for the purposes of FGM. The maximum jail term for carrying out or enabling FGM is 14 years.

The man was granted conditional bail and will next appear at Woolwich Crown Court for a hearing on 21 December.

A provisional trial date has been set for 5 March. 

A MET firearms expert killed himself in a stand-off with police after blaming himself for the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, an inquest heard. 

Tony Hanley, 51, was depressed and complained of “seeing dead people” when he turned a handgun on himself in a street near his home in Wallington, south London. Officers had Tasered him and fired rubber bullets in a bid to make him drop the weapon, the South London coroner’s court heard. 

Mr Hanley, a physical protection technician, had told girlfriend Tina Harper he was haunted by the death of Mr Duggan, shot dead in August 2011. “He kept saying he was seeing dead people,” Ms Harper told the inquest.

She added that he said he felt responsible for Mr Duggan’s death as he had “recommended the bullets” used. The court heard Mr Hanley had suffered a “breakdown” three months before his death, claiming he was being bullied at work. He had reported feeling suicidal to doctors the day before he killed himself on January 30, 2016.

Dr Yvonne Hemmings, who assessed Mr Hanley in October 2015, said he had reported “extreme depression… triggered by long-standing workplace bullying.” The inquest continues. 

A retired health and safety officer died after contracting Legionnaires' disease from a hotel, just months after another guest was struck down with the deadly bug.

Elaine Brown, 69, suffered a fatal stroke triggered by the disease which is caught by breathing in droplets of contaminated water.

The grandmother-of-four had been on a coach tour with her husband Graham, 58, when they spent a night The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow, Shropshire, on July 31.

She returned home but days later she developed flu-like symptoms and was rushed to Royal Liverpool University Hospital where she died of a stroke on August 26.

It later transpired that another guest, in her 70s, also contracted the disease after staying at the £120-a-night hotel in April but has since made a full recovery. 

Mrs Brown's family have now instructed legal firm Irwin Mitchell to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death, and to found out if more could have been done to protect her. 

It is possible to book a night at the hotel online after November 13. Her husband Graham, 58, said they would never have stayed at the hotel had they been aware of the previous Legionnaire's outbreak.

The passport office worker said: 'We went to the Feathers Hotel for a one night stay without any knowledge whatsoever that there was a deadly bacteria waiting for us.

'If we had been told about the case of Legionnaires' disease in April, there is absolutely no chance that we would have stayed there, and Elaine would have still been with us today. 'Nothing can possibly replace Elaine, but the hotel's management have to ensure they are doing everything they possibly can to make sure their guests are protected from avoidable illnesses like this.'

The couple's son Neil Edwards, 44, a writer from Leeds, said: 'We all miss mum so much and it is an incredibly emotional time for the entire family.

'While we lived away from each other, barely a week would go by when I would not call her to catch up on things, and even now I still get the urge to pick up the phone and give her a ring. It is hard to believe she has gone. Our grief at this point, however, is mixed with anger, as we feel we deserve to know why the hotel was not closed following the reports of the first case of Legionnaires' disease in April.

'It is difficult not to believe that mum would still be with us if action was taken earlier, and we just feel we are deserving of answers as to whether more should have been done to keep her safe.

'While nothing will ever change what has happened, we hope that by taking this action we can get the justice her incredible life deserves, whilst also ensuring that no other family has to endure the heartbreak that we are currently facing.'

Law-firm Irwin Mitchell are investigating whether the hotel should have done more to prevent a second outbreak following the first case in April. Solicitor Jatinder Paul, who is representing Mrs Brown's family, said: 'It is only weeks since Elaine passed away and her family remain understandably devastated and angry at their avoidable loss.

'Our clients have many questions relating to her death and, following our instruction, we are determined to help them get the answers they deserve.

'It is regrettable, despite almost two months passing by, that the owners of the Feathers Hotel have still not sent a personal apology to Elaine's husband or her children, and I would ask that they immediately take the steps to do so.

'Legionnaires' disease is an incredibly serious illness which, as this case demonstrates, can have a huge impact on those who contract it.

'I would encourage anyone who has been affected by illness after staying at the Feathers Hotel to see their GP at the earliest available opportunity.

'I would also like to speak with them as they may be able to help with our investigations.

'Following our involvement in the aftermath of the outbreak in Stoke-on-Trent five years ago, it was our sincere hope that lessons would be learnt from that outbreak and these recent problems suggest there remains much to learn in terms of keeping the public safe from illnesses of this kind.

Air pollution has been linked to kidney and bladder cancer' showing toxic particles may cause harm beyond the lungs.

A ground-breaking study has found microscopic ‘PM2.5’ particles from car exhausts can raise someone’s risk of dying from kidney or bladder cancer by almost 15 per cent.

People living near busy roads, exposed to nitrogen dioxide from diesel cars especially, see their danger of death from bowel cancer rise by six per cent.

Pollution in British towns and cities are linked to 40,000 premature deaths a year, with heart disease and stroke the biggest causes. Dr Michelle Turner, first author of the study, said: ‘This research suggests that air pollution was not associated with death from most non-lung cancers, but the associations with kidney, bladder and colorectal cancer deserve further investigation.'

A report this week showed toxic air is killing people in almost every part of the UK, with pollution levels in 43 of our largest towns and cities, from Eastbourne to London and Birmingham, reported to be breaching global safety limits. 

The new study looked at pollution alongside deaths from cancer in 29 parts of the body, and found links with kidney, bladder and bowel cancer.

The threat for kidney and bladder cancer came from PM2.5 particles, which are so microscopic they are inhaled deep into the lungs. Measured in milligrammes per metre cubed (ug/m3), around one in 10 come from road transport.

When the researchers examined people’s exposure to these particles, they found each 4.4 ug/m3 increase in exposure raised the risk of dying from kidney cancer by 14 per cent, and bladder cancer by 13 per cent.

Bowel cancer was linked with nitrogen dioxide, which is now known to be produced in larger quantities by diesel cars than petrol.

The health risks have fuelled criticism of the Labour government which 16 years ago cut road tax to incentivise diesel cars on the basis that they emit less carbon dioxide.

Nitrogen dioxide is measured in parts per billion, based on its mass within the other gases in the air we breathe.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found each rise in exposure of 6.5 parts per billion raised someone’s chances of dying from bowel cancer by six per cent.

Mel Evans, clean air campaigner at Greenpeace, said: ‘Air pollution in the UK is at illegal levels in many parts of the country, and yet despite all the evidence that links this pollution to very serious and life-threatening illness, action to reduce air pollution remains wholly inadequate.

‘In order to make our air clean and safe to breathe, we need both the government and car industry to take urgent action on diesel pollution. People need real alternatives to diesel, and fast. 

A new drug that 'melts away' the fat that builds up inside arteries has been hailed as a 'big breakthrough' in the fight against heart disease.

The medication has already been successful in trials for the treatment of breast cancer and diabetes and now scientists at Aberdeen University have discovered it could also boost cardiovascular health.

Just a single dose of trodusquemine tested on mice 'completely reversed' atherosclerosis, a disease that causes most heart attacks and strokes. The disease causes arteries to become clogged with fatty substances called plaques, which over time, hardens and narrows your arteries.

The drug 'mimics' the effects of exercise and activates a protective enzyme. It also inhibits another enzyme that causes prolonged inflammation and hardens arteries. 

Experts said their findings have the potential to ‘significantly reduce deaths’. Heart disease is the number one cause of death globally, killing 17.7 million people a year. Professor Mirela Delibegovic from the University of Aberdeen’s Institute of Medical Sciences who led the study told Mail Online: ‘We know this drug has been shown to have beneficial effects on reducing prolonged inflammation in type 2 diabetes and because this is also a factor in atherosclerosis we wanted to know if it had cardiovascular benefits too.

‘And our initial tests on mice show that it does, so this is potentially a big breakthrough.

‘Essentially, trodusquemine’s effects on key enzymes in play here are that it is stopping the bad guy and helping the good guy.

‘We will now need to carry out further research to see if the same effect is replicated in humans and it is safe. Previous research has shown that having a deficiency in this enzyme has a protective effect against atherosclerotic plaque formation.

Therefore, knowing this, the team wanted to test it to on mice with set-in atherosclerosis.

They found that they had less fatty plaques in their arteries whether they had regular doses over time or just a single dose of trodusquemine.

They also believe it stimulates the action of another protein called AMPK, which reduces chronic inflammation.

Inflammation plays a major role in all phases of atherosclerosis by thinning connective tissue in plaques and causing them to rupture.