Migraine headache is a sort of throbbing pain that occurs on one side of the head and is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, dizziness and increased sensitivity to light, sound and smell. The most common triggers of this type of headache are excessive smoking, consumption of alcohol, irregular sleeping patterns, delayed or missed meals, stress and hormonal imbalance. There are various migraine headache medications available these days ranging from over the counter (OTC) drugs to prescription drugs and Botox shots.

Migraine headache medication is of two types- over the counter (OTC) drugs and non- steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Over the counter (OTC) migraine headache medication:

The most commonly used OTC drugs for treating migraine headache are Excedrin Migraine, Motrin Migraine pain and Advil Migraine. All three formulas are approved by the Food and Drug Association (FDA) for treating migraine headaches.

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): Drugs like aspirin, acetaminophen, naproxen sodium and ibuprofen belong to this category. These drugs are available without prescription and are used for treating mild to moderate intensity headaches.

Triptans: This is a common drug used by individuals suffering from migraine attacks and has proved to be quite beneficial in providing relief from symptoms of pain, nausea and hypersensitivity to light. Sumatriptan, Rizatriptan and Eletriptan belong to this category.

Ergotamines: These migraine medications have been in use for more than 50 years and dominated the migraine treatment scene before triptants were launched. They are less effective than triptants but have fewer side effects. Dihydroergotamine belonging to the class of ergots is commonly used to treat migraine.

Antidepressants: Many antidepressants have been found to be helpful in treating migraine headache. Drugs like amitriptyline, nortriptyline and protriptyline are few drugs that are beneficial for treating migraine headache.

Cardiovascular drugs: These are the beta blockers and calcium channel blockers which are usually used for treating high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. These types of drugs have shown positive results in minimizing the occurrence and severity of the migraine attack. Drugs like verapamil and candesartan are a few of the helpful drugs found in this category to treat migraine headache.

Botulium toxin type A (Botox): When people suffering from migraines took botox injections for getting rid of wrinkles, they found a considerable fall in the frequency and intensity of migraine headaches. Thus, this accidental discovery revealed that botox shots are also helpful in treating migraine headache along with other cosmetic benefits.