Migraine can affect anyone, no matter their age or gender; however, it’s three times more prevalent among female-identifying individuals born into this gender.
Over-the-counter pain relievers may be helpful for migraine headaches, but prolonged use may lead to rebound symptoms. Prescription triptans may help prevent or shorten migraine attacks and are available as pills, injections or nasal sprays.
Acute Treatment
As soon as an attack of migraine begins, pain relievers such as acetaminophen, aspirin and ibuprofen should be used immediately to reduce headache pain and nausea. Some medications contain both an antiemetic agent as well as pain-relievers; additionally ergot alkaloids or combination analgesics may be effective treatments as well.
Triptans provide rapid headache relief, particularly when taken early during an attack when symptoms are mild. Oral triptans include frovatriptan (Frova), naratriptan (Amerge) and sumatriptan (Suma).
CGRP antagonists like rimegepant (Nurtec ODT) and ubrogepant (Ubrelvy) may provide another effective treatment option. These medicines block the protein CGRP which dilates blood vessels during migraine attacks and may start alleviating symptoms within 60 minutes; Zavegepant (Zavzpret) nasal spray can also work quickly within 15 minutes – all these drugs should be used with caution when combined with certain types of drugs such as CYP3A4 inhibitors or inhibitors.
Neuromodulation Devices
Neuromodulation goes beyond acute treatments by using implantable and non-implantable medical device technologies to increase or suppress nervous system activity, thus restoring normal balance to electrical and chemical signals regulating various brain and nerve conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and tremor, as well as tinnitus, pain depression epilepsy epilepsy bladder control.
Migraine with aura is characterized by repeated episodes of transient focal neurological symptoms that appear with headache phase. These typically include visual symptoms like fortification spectra or tingling sensation in extremities; other symptoms may include nausea and phonophobia4.
An accurate diagnosis of migraine requires an in-depth medical history review, application of ICHD-3 criteria and physical examination. Validated diagnostic aids include headache diaries and the three-item ID-Migraine questionnaire and five-item Migraine Screen Questionnaire – these may also assist in reevaluating diagnoses during follow-ups.
Other Treatments
There are various medications that can effectively ease migraine attacks, including triptans, NSAIDs, antiemetics and ergot alkaloids. Acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs tend to be considered first-line acute treatments for mild or moderate attacks.
Gepants (oral calcitonin gene-related peptide antagonists) could prove more effective than NSAIDs and triptans when treating headaches. Ubrogepant and rimegepant are available only with valid valid prescription. They should be taken immediately upon experiencing headache symptoms, and when taken together with strong CYP3A4 inhibitor medicines like cancer treatments or grapefruit juice it should not be used together as these may interfere with its effectiveness.
Other treatments have proven their worth, including acupuncture and cognitive behavioral therapy, both of which may reduce stress – known to trigger migraines – through cognitive behavioral techniques like CBT. Meditation and yoga also seem to provide some relief, while CT scans can detect brain tumors, infections and other conditions which cause headaches quickly and accurately. These tests utilize X-ray technology to create detailed cross-section images of the brain with accurate results that become available quickly.
