# Does anybody still use BC Headache Powder? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196 "2020-10-04T17:19:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/22 "2020-10-05T14:26:26Z")
If you hold them in your mouth a good long time before swallowing, everything tastes sweet for a while. It has an aftertaste like artichoke hearts. I think I used to get a slight buzz with it too, but that could have been just the feeling of the pain leaving. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/23 "2020-10-05T14:50:57Z")
It could be just my small sample size but it seems to me that Aspirin has declined in the last several decades as a pain medicine in favor of ibuprofen (Motrin) and acetaminophen (Tylenol). I definitely think of it as something an older person would use. It seems its primary use now is for mild thinning of the blood. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/24 "2020-10-05T15:21:27Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I definitely think of it as something an older person would use. Funny you should say that - the South African equivalent brand is called [Grand-Pa](https://clicks.co.za/grand-pa_headache-powders-38-powders/p/295089) Headache Powder. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/25 "2020-10-05T15:33:16Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > It could be just my small sample size but it seems to me that Aspirin has declined in the last several decades as a pain medicine in favor of ibuprofen (Motrin) and acetaminophen (Tylenol). I definitely think of it as something an older person would use. I switched back to aspirin because of all the warnings over Tylenol and alcohol. I use ibuprofen for sore muscles and the like but not headaches ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/26 "2020-10-05T17:38:42Z")
I was somewhat amused by the ads where they are trying to prebrand aspirin as a pain reliever. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/27 "2020-10-05T17:51:34Z")
There used to be an aspirin brand called Bufferin and I thought the selling point was that the pills were coated to reduce stomach irritation. So it seems a little odd to take aspirin in powder form, since I think there is no protection against irritation. ---
**Author:** ![Joeu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joeu/32/2911_2.png) [@Joeu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joeu)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/28 "2020-10-05T20:05:34Z")
I use Goody’s headache powder for headache and it’s fantastic. It will often cure a headache faster and more completely than any other method. It **feels** like it’s faster than pills, but that could very easily be a placebo effect. I keep them in the car, in my desk at the office (when I used to actually go to the office, in the before-times) and at home. The combination (acetaminophen, aspirin and caffeine) is extremely effective for me. Could I recreate that combination without the powder? Sure! But the little packets are very convenient, and although the taste is not great (the “cool orange” is the one I usually buy), it’s certainly not terrible. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/29 "2020-10-05T20:11:04Z")
I cosign the posters who have remarked that this is a southern thing. There’s a BC commercial that airs here in Virginia. It’s one of those commercials where average, everyday southern-accented joe shmoes gush over the product. None of the people sound like your stereotypical white-collar professional. So there’s likely a nexus with social class as well as geography. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/30 "2020-10-05T23:05:26Z")
> [@Joeu](#): > > The combination (acetaminophen, aspirin and caffeine) is extremely effective for me. Could I recreate that combination without the powder? Sure! It’s called Excedrin-Shhhh. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/31 "2020-10-06T03:16:44Z")
Bufferin is still on the market. It includes a combination of antacids to reduce stomach irritation. [https://bufferin.com/faqs](https://bufferin.com/faqs) The gas station up the road from me has BC Powders, which had me thinking the same thing the OP was. BTW, when I was in pharmacy school in the early 1990s, we had to make powder papers. Wow, that was tedious, and I couldn’t imagine having to weigh out and fold up dozens of those at a time, but that’s what the druggists of past generations had to do. ---
**Author:** ![Turki-lurki](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turki-lurki/32/7168_2.png) [@Turki-lurki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turki-lurki)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/32 "2020-10-06T03:49:40Z")
Yeah, buddy. And my company used to make one of the biggest competitor brands in the field. BC imho Tastes nasty, works fast. Cheap. What’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/33 "2020-10-06T04:01:43Z")
I’ve never heard of it, but I’ll guarantee you Beckdawreck’s husband does. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/34 "2020-10-06T10:56:36Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I wonder if this is similar to fever powders Yup. Both the Aspirin and the phenacetin / paracetamol/ Panadol/ acetaminophen / Tylenol are antipyretic. Caffeine /causes/ fever, but its anti-inflammatory – and also works to relieve caffeine-withdrawal headaches, like you might get after chronic abuse of powders… ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196/35 "2020-10-06T17:33:03Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > While powdered aspirin may get to work somewhat faster than the pill form, it’s doubtful most people are going to experience significantly faster relief with the powdered form. Ordinary aspirin pills dissolve fairly quickly in the stomach. > > In general, medication from both powders and pills taken orally passes into the gastrointestinal tract, is subsequently processed in the liver and eventually is spread via the blood to various organs. Meds don’t go straight into the bloodstream if you drink dissolved powders or just swallow them.\* > > The combination of aspirin and caffeine can be found in other products, including Goody’s headache powder and good ol’ Anacin (their traditional pill contains both aspirin and caffeine). Caffeine works against headache through vasoconstriction, though taking too much of it or using it too often can cause rebound headaches. > > \*maybe if you _snorted_ headache powder you’d get faster relief, but I doubt this is something you’d want to try at home. 😃 ASA right up the nose I’d suspect could lead to some serious bleeding issues. 😱 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-still-use-bc-headache-powder/922196.md?page=1)