The Different Medications Used To Treat Migraines

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Dr. Newman explains that there are various approaches for treating migraine headaches, including ones that deal with the actual headache itself and preventative measures before a migraine attack.

Lawrence C. Newman, MD: There are many different approaches that we used to treat people who suffer from migraine. In general, we divide the therapies into acute medications and preventative medications.

The acute medications are medications that taken at the onset of the headache to shorten the attack of pain, and hopefully to get rid of the associated symptoms, the nausea and vomiting for instance.

We divide the acute medications into two broad categories, symptomatic medications and specific medications. A symptomatic medication is not just for migraine.

It can be used for pain or for nausea and vomiting for any reason. It can include over the counter medications like Aspirin or Tylenol or medications combined like with caffeine like Excedrin for instance or certain prescription medications.

The prescription forms of antiinflammatory medications as well. Specific agents on the other hand worked just for migraine and the beauty of these agents is that they target not only the head pain, but the associated features, the nausea, the vomiting, the lightness, the sound and the smell sensitivity.

They work quickly. They do not cause sedation in general, and they are not addicted. Agents like those include the Triptans, Sumatriptan or Imitrex, Rizatriptan or Maxalt were various forms, those medications, Ergotamines and Dihydroergotamine like Migranal nasal spray and several others.

Again, these agents target the headaches specifically not generally. For people who had very frequent attacks of migraine, frequent is defined as more than one headache per month will often use preventative agents.

Preventative agents fall in several different categories. High blood pressure medications, antidepressant medications, and antiseizure medications. These agents have been shown to decrease both the frequency and severity of attacks of migraine letting patients go on to live a normal life.

Learn more about Dr. Newman:
http://www.einstein.yu.edu/fac....ulty/profile.asp?id=

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