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Effective Relief for Migraine Headaches

With Treatments Including Medication, Symptoms can be Diminished

Aug 5, 2009 Heidi Lowry

Prescription, over-the-counter and preventative medicine combined with lifestyle changes can help those who suffer from severe headaches stop the pain.

A migraine is a severe, vascular headache that is three times more likely to be experienced by women than men. Approximately 29.5 million Americans suffer from migraines, most of which have a family history of the headaches.

They can last from four to 72 hours, sometimes longer, and migraine headache symptoms include pain on one side of the head that is so bad it affects daily activities, a pulsing or throbbing quality, nausea, pain that worsens during movement and sensitivity to light and sound.

Migraine Headache Causes and Lifestyle Changes That Can Relieve Them

Known as triggers, certain lifestyle choices and physical conditions can contribute to the onset of a migraine headache. These include diet, activity level, psychological problems and sleep. If a sufferer can improve any of these factors, he or she may decrease the number of severe headaches experienced each year.

After consulting with a doctor, food logs are often used to track the types of foods being eaten and the timing of meals. Migraine sufferers should focus on eating healthfully, avoiding fatty or fried foods, and eat in small amounts several times a day.

Regular exercise should be completed weekly and can also be monitored in the same journal. Smoking should be avoided and stressed should be reduced.

Direct and Preventative Prescription Therapies

Prescription migraine medicines include those designed to treat a full-blown migraine attack, anti-inflammatory medications to ease pressure and abortive remedies that are taken at the headache's onset during mild pain in an attempt to stop the migraine before it starts. Each medicine comes in self-injectable forms, nasal sprays and tablets.

In severe cases, narcotic analgesics are prescribed to relieve pain, though they are used sparingly because dependency can develop. For those that suffer from migraines often, four preventative medications can be obtained from doctors that limit the frequency of attacks and make the headaches more susceptible to pain medication.

Over-the-Counter Headache Remedies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved three medications that are available over the counter to relieve migraine pain.

Excedrin Migraine, which is composed of aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine, treats the headache and the symptoms it causes. The ibuprofen-comprised Advil Migraine and Motrin Migraine Pain relieve the headache and the discomfort it creates.

Migraine Ice, a blue cooling pad that relieves migraine pain topically at the forehead and temples, can be used in conjunction with prescription or over-the-counter medications because it is applied to the surface of the skin to provide immediate local pain relief.

Outlook for People With a History of Migraines

Though examinations done by a doctor in between migraine episodes reveal nothing about the cause of the debilitating headaches, after a history of migraines has been documented, the level of pain and the number of times headaches happen can be reduced using several methods:

lifestyle changes that include healthy eating and regular exercise;
diminished stress; and
over-the-counter, prescription and preventative medicines.

These migraine headache treatments ease the suffering and, when used in conjunction, can get a person back on his or her feet faster after a migraine strikes.

Source:

National Headache Foundation

The copyright of the article Effective Relief for Migraine Headaches in General Medicine is owned by Heidi Lowry. Permission to republish Effective Relief for Migraine Headaches in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Migraine Headache Relief