Migraine and Cluster Headache Medications
- What Are Migraine and Cluster Headaches?
- What Causes Migraine and Cluster Headaches?
- What Are the Risks of Migraine and Cluster Headaches?
- How Are Migraine and Cluster Headaches Treated?
- Migraine Headache Abortive Therapy
- Cluster Headache Abortive Therapy
- Triptans
- Ergot Alkaloids
- Migraine Headache Preventive Therapy
- Cluster Headache Preventive Therapy
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What Are Migraine and Cluster Headaches?
Migraines are headaches that most likely stem from problems with blood vessels in the head. Migraine headaches typically last from 4-72 hours. They may happen as often as several times a week to only once a year. Migraine headaches cause moderate-to-severe pain. The pain may be located on one or both sides of the head, in the back of the neck, or around the face or eyes. Symptoms like nausea, vomiting, dizziness, stuffy nose, and/or watery eyes may occur. Some people have tunnel vision or see spots or halos. People who have migraines are called migraineurs.
Cluster headaches are vascular headaches that occur almost daily in episodes, or “clusters,” over weeks to months. The pain is severe and comes on very suddenly. Pain usually affects one side of the face and is accompanied by nasal congestion, runny nose, and watery eyes. In contrast to migraine headaches, cluster headaches occur more frequently in males.
Next: What Causes Migraine and Cluster Headaches? »
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Causes and Treatments of Migraine and Related Headaches »
Migraine Headaches Introduction
Headaches are very common; in fact, almost everyone will have a headache at some point. Headaches have been written about since the time of the Babylonians. Migraine headaches are even discussed in the Bible. Some very famous historical figures (for example, Napoleon Bonaparte) suffered from severe headaches.
Experts do not agree about what causes headaches, but they agree that more studies are needed. Headaches are hard to study because of the following reasons:
- People experience pain differently (in other words, a headache one person rates as a 10 on a scale of 10 might be rated as a 5 by another person).
- Measuring headache pain in a standard way that accounts for the personal way people feel pain is almost impossible.
- Studies are limited to human subjects.
Although headaches might rarely be d...
Read the Causes and Treatments of Migraine and Related Headaches article »
Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine
Migraine Headache »
Although migraine is a term applied to certain headaches with a vascular quality, overwhelming evidence suggests that migraine is a dominantly inherited disorder characterized by varying degrees of recurrent vascular-quality headache, photophobia, sleep disruption, and depression.
