New Migraine Headache Treatments and How They May Help You

Many among us are experiencing severe headaches once in a while; and while some of these headaches may end and disappear after an hour, there are headaches which lasted for four hours or more and even worse, for several days. Now, if you’re suffering from the latter, you must be having migraine headaches.

Basically, migraine headaches are defined as that form of headache that is usually very intense and disabling. It can indeed disable you from doing what you normally do everyday with the throbbing pain it brought on the sufferer. Migraine headache is considered as a neurologic disease and is the most common type of vascular headache.

The great disturbances and disruption of migraine headaches, however, can now be avoided. All you need is to know what really a migraine is, what causes it and what treatments are available. It is now easy to eliminate the pain of migraine especially now that there are new migraine headache treatments available.

Conventional Treatment

o Trigger avoidance – migraine can be reduced through dietary changes to avoid certain chemicals present in such foods as cheddar cheese, chocolate, nuts and most alcoholic beverages. Some triggers (for example, hunger or stress) may be situational and can be avoided through lifestyle changes.
o Symptomatic control – some sufferers are creating their own way of coping with pain such as cold or hot shower directed at the head, less often a warm bath, or resting in a dark and silent room; however, medications is still needed and important.

Some medications are as follows;
o Analgesics
o Anti-nausea agents
o Narcotic pain killers
o Fioricet or fiorinal
o Anti-emitics by injection
o Sumatriptan therapy

o Preventive Drugs – some of the most effective prescription medications may include several classes of medications including beta blockers such as propranolol and atenolol, antidepressants such as amitriptyline, and anticonvulsants such as valproic acid and topiramate. Most of these drugs needs supervision and prescription.

New Migraine Headache Treatments Available

o Triptans – these treatments attach to serotonin receptors on the blood vessels and nerves and thereby reduce inflammation and constrict the blood vessels; thereby stopping the headache.

Most common triptan;
o sumatriptan (Imitrex) – these are available as an injection, oral tablet, and nasal spray
o Zolmitriptan (Zomig) and rizatriptan (Maxalt) – these are newer triptans that are available as oral tablets and as tablets that melt in the mouth.
o Naratriptan (Amerge), almotriptan (Axert) and frovatriptan (Frovalan) - available only as oral tablets

Side effects of Triptans;
o Facial flushing
o Tingling of the skin
o Sense of tightness around the chest and throat
o Drowsiness
o Fatigue
o Dizziness
o Heart attack
o Strokes

Triptan is an effective treatment for migraine headache, you must however always consult doctors and experts for proper intake to avoid side effects.

o Ergots – these are medications that abort migraine headaches.

Examples of Ergots;
o ergotamine preparations (Ergomar, Wigraine, and Cafergot)
o dihydroergotamine preparations (Migranal, DHE-45).

Side effects of Ergots;
o constriction of blood vessels

Ergots are more prone to cause nausea and vomiting than the triptans; they can cause prolonged contraction of the uterus and miscarriages in pregnant women. They are not as safe as the triptans

o Midrin – these medicines are used to abort migraine and tension. It is most effective if used early during a headache. These should not be used in patients with high blood pressure, kidney disease, glaucoma, atherosclerosis, liver disease, or taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors

Examples of Midrin;
o of isometheptene (a blood vessel constrictor)
o dichloralphenazone (a mild sedative)
o acetaminophen (a pain reliever)

Effects of Midrin:

o potent blood vessel constricting effect
Non-medication therapies for migraine

If you don’t want the aforementioned medications and treatments because you are afraid of the side effects it can give you; there are non-medication therapies for migraine headaches. These can also provide symptomatic and preventative therapy. The following are helpful in stopping an attack once it has started:

o ice
o biofeedback
o relaxation
o sleep

It is also advisable to avoid things such as smoking,  avoiding certain foods especially those high in tyramine (sharp cheeses) or those containing sulphites (wines) or nitrates (nuts, pressed meats). Leading a healthy life style with good nutrition, adequate water intake, sufficient sleep and exercise are also useful. Acupuncture has been suggested to be a useful non-medication therapy.

Medication therapies for migraines

Lots of medicines are now available; these are over-the-counter pain relievers like analgesics. The following are the most common non-prescription, over-the-counter medications that you can take:

o acetaminophen (Tylenol) - reduces pain and fever by acting on pain centers in the brain; is well tolerated and generally is considered easier on the stomach than NSAIDs. These, however, can cause severe liver damage in high (toxic) doses or if used on a regular basis over extended periods of time.
o non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – these relieve pain by reducing the inflammation that causes the pain.
o aspirin
o  non-aspirin
ibuprofen (Advil, Nuprin, Motrin IB, and Medipren)
naproxen (Aleve)