Question
I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but I had a question regarding caffeine and period cramps.

One of my friends swear that caffeine helps relieve cramps, and another says that you must not have caffeine while you are cramping, because it makes it worse.

In your opinion, does caffeine help or not with cramps? Has it ever been scientifically proven in either case?

Thanks for your time.

Answer
Jane,
I wondered about this all through nursing school and pharmacology classes. I had to ask a pharmacist before I got a clear answer. Caffeine is used in combination with drugs such as aspirin and acetaminophen because it "enhances" the painkilling effect of these meds. It is especially effective when dealing with headaches which are often a combination of fatigue as well as tension. Caffeine alone may not do much for pain unless the pain is caused by sheer fatigue. In fact, some women of childbearing age may find that caffeine causes their PMS symptoms to be worse when "that time" rolls around. It is probably one of the old practices that never got true scientific proof because it was felt to work. I will say this, that in the case of migraine headaches caffeine is effective because it helps to shrink the vessels in the head, which is one of the reasons we develop migraines in the first place - the cerebral vessels become dilated. But, that's just one of the causes of migraines. It does seem to be a paradox, but I hope I've answered your question, which is a very GOOD question!