Migraine pain relief
A headache may be one of several different varieties, each of which has its own unique pain characteristics which differ dramatically. The types of headache include tension, sinus, cluster, rebound and migraine. Migraine is a particularly painful headache that recurs from time to time. Migraine headaches are a very common disorder that afflicts numerous people on a regular basis. A migraine headache has been defined as an episodic headache lasting a finite time, in the range of a small amount of time to days. The small amount of time could be minutes to a few hours. These episodic headaches are often, but not always, associated with an aura followed by gastrointestinal discomfort, dizziness, pulsatile pain, increased pain through normal physical activity, photophobia, phonophobia and/or visual disturbances. Of the different types of migraines, classical migraine and common migraine are the two most prevalent. The major difference between the two types of migraines is that classical migraines are preceded by the appearance of neurological symptoms before an attack whereas common migraines are not preceded by such symptoms. Migraine is caused by intermittent brain dysfunction. However, the precise pathophysiological mechanisms involved are not understood. The head pain is believed to involve blood vessel dilation and a reduction in the brain's pain-relieving chemicals. Migraine headache is characterized by pulsating head pain that is episodic, unilateral or bilateral, lasting from 4 to 72 hours and often associated with nausea, vomiting and hypersensitivity to light and/or sound. When accompanied by premonitory symptoms, such as visual, sensory, speech or motor symptoms, the headache is referred to as "migraine with aura," formerly known as classic migraine. When not accompanied by such symptoms, the headache is referred to as "migraine without aura," formerly known as common migraine. Migraine headache is a chronic and disabling condition affecting a significant portion of the population throughout the world. The pharmacologic management of migraine has traditionally focused on two approaches: symptomatic or acute treatment and prophylactic therapy. The objective of acute treatment is to reduce the intensity and duration of pain with its attendant symptoms and to optimize the patient's ability to function normally whereas the major objective of prophylactic therapy is the reduction of frequency, duration, and intensity of attacks. Prophylactic medication may be selected for a patient with 2-4 headaches per month, if they are severe enough to interfere with daily activities. Beta blockers such as propranolol (Inderal) are the most common. Other medications, often used, are serotonin antagonists such as methysergide maleate, calcium channel blockers, amitriptyline, and ergotamine preparations with belladonna alkaloids and phenobarbital. These all have significant side effects such as sedation, loss of energy and drive, dry mouth, constipation, weight gain and gastrointestinal cramping and distress. For symptomatic treatment, ergotamine with caffeine is commonly used. Other medications include isometheptene mucate, NSAIDs, dihydroergotamine, the newer medication sumitriptan which has to be injected intramuscularly and a rapidly expanding class of oral triptans including oral sumitriptan, all of which constrict blood vessels throughout the body, including the coronary vessels. When narcotics, such as Fiorinal with codeine are frequently used, additional hazards include the considerable potential for rebound headache and habituation.
Related products