Migraine
Migraine is a condition that produces attacks rather than isolated headaches. A migraine attack combines a severe throbbing pain, often on one side, with nausea and marked sensitivity to light and sound.
Key points
- Warning symptoms such as tiredness and frequent yawning can arrive before the headache begins.
- Migraine cannot be cured, but treatment addresses two separate goals: settling an attack and preventing the next one.
- Painkillers work best taken as soon as the headache starts rather than once it is established.
- Finding the right combination of treatments often takes more than one attempt.
Medicines listed for Migraine
The five products listed for migraine span two broad roles. Propranolol is a beta blocker, a class used to help prevent attacks rather than treat one in progress. The remaining four contain triptans: Rizatriptan, eletriptan, zolmitriptan and sumatriptan. Triptans are used to settle an attack once it has begun. Which option suits depends on how severe and how frequent the attacks are.