There’s no cure for migraine. However, regardless of the type of migraine you have, a range of treatments can help you manage migraine symptoms and, in some cases, make them less frequent and severe.

Doctors generally classify migraine drugs as acute or preventive treatments. Acute treatments reduce pain and other symptoms at the first sign of a migraine attack, while preventive medications aim to reduce attack frequency and severity.

Neuromodulation, or neurostimulation, is another migraine treatment option that may reduce migraine attacks or relieve symptoms for some people. Various devices can deliver electric or magnetic pulses to specific nerves involved in migraine, calming overexcitable nerves and changing the way pain messages are relayed to the brain.

Certain mind-body therapies, such as acupuncture, biofeedback, and massage, can also prevent migraine attacks in some people. Plus, avoiding known triggers might reduce the number of migraine attacks.

This article breaks down the different migraine treatments and remedies.

Medications

Acute migraine treatments relieve migraine attacks that are in progress, easing pain, nausea, and light sensitivity. These include over-the-counter pain relievers, triptans, ditans, gepants, dihydroergotamine, steroids (usually for attacks that don’t respond to other treatment) and antinausea medications.

Others are preventive, meaning that people taking them aim to reduce how many attacks they have and how severe they are. People who have frequent or severe migraine attacks that disrupt daily life may be candidates for preventive migraine medications.

Preventive medications include antiseizure medications, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, CGRP monoclonal antibodies, and certain antidepressants.

People may need to try different options to settle on a preventive drug that works for them, and it may take a few months to start reducing migraine attacks.

Low doses can help people limit side effects while finding a treatment that works for them.

Over-the-Counter (OTC) Pain Relievers

This category includes nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), and aspirin, as well as acetaminophen (Tylenol). A combination drug containing aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine (Excedrin Migraine) may be effective at reducing the pain associated with mild to moderate migraine. But it’s not as effective for severe attacks.

If your doctor recommends NSAIDs or products containing aspirin, these drugs have links to side effects such as ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding. Daily use might lead to medication-overuse headaches.

Triptans

Triptans are also known as 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonists because they block the pain pathways in the brain by binding to specific serotonin receptors on neurons.

Doctors often prescribe them if other migraine therapies haven’t been successful. Seven triptans are available, including:

eletriptan (Relpax)
rizatriptan (Maxalt)
zolmitriptan (Zomig)
frovatriptan (Frova)
naratriptan (Amerge)
sumatriptan (Imitrex)
almotriptan

According to Everyday Health network site Migriane Again, triptans come in many forms, including oral pills, nasal sprays, nasal powder, and injections. Non-oral methods (e.g., nasal sprays and injections) can be more effective for people experiencing the migraine symptom of nausea or vomiting as the digestive system tends to slow during an attack.

Common side effects of triptans include nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, and muscle tingling, numbness, and weakness. Because one of their actions is to constrict blood vessels, doctors don’t recommend triptans for people at high risk for a stroke or heart attack.

Triptan Plus NSAID

In January 2025, the FDA approved a combination drug for the acute treatment of migraine containing the triptan rizatriptan and the NSAID meloxicam, a drug mainly used for arthritis pain.

The new combination drug is known as Symbravo and is taken as a tablet.

While combining triptans and NSAIDs for migraine relief isn’t new, Symbravo uses a new formulation of meloxicam that gets absorbed — and starts working — fast, within one hour. Rizatriptan acts quickly, too, but it also stops working relatively quickly. In contrast, the effects of the new formulation of meloxicam last for about 18 hours.

Together, the two drugs promise quick pain relief that lasts over many hours.

Ergots

Ergots interact with the same brain receptors as triptans. However, doctors often prescribe triptans instead of ergots, as more research supports the effectiveness of triptans for treating migraine attacks.

An ergot called dihydroergotamine (Migranal, Trudhesa) may be used when triptans aren’t having the desired effect on pain.

Dihydroergotamine is most effective when delivered intravenously (IV), which requires a medical professional to administer the dose. It’s also available as a self-injection and as a nasal spray.

Gepants

CGRP is a peptide (or short chain of amino acids) in the brain and nervous system that causes blood vessel dilation and plays a role in transmitting pain. Research shows that blood and saliva levels of CGRP increase during migraine attacks.

CGRP antagonists, sometimes referred to as “gepants,” prevent CGRP from binding to receptors in various cell types in the brain.

FDA-approved gepants include:

atogepant (Qulipta)
rimegepant (Nurtec ODT)
ubrogepant (Ubrelvy)
zavegepant (Zavzpret)

Different drugs require different dosages. For example, atogepant is available in 10-milligram (mg), 30 mg, and 60 mg doses.

Zavgepant is a nasal spray available as a single spray (10 mg) in one nostril, as needed. The maximum dose in 24 hours is one 10 mg spray.

In 2023, atogepant also received approval as a preventive treatment for chronic migraine based on a study in which participants had roughly seven fewer migraine days over 12 weeks on either 30 mg twice a day or 60 mg once a day compared with a placebo.

5-HT1F Receptor Agonists (Ditans)

Also known as ditans, 5-HT1F receptor agonists selectively bind to certain serotonin receptors on trigeminal neurons, blocking the transmission of pain in the trigeminal nerve system.

The trigeminal nerve is a complex nerve responsible for sensation in the face and movement of the jaw muscles.

Activation of the trigeminal nucleus, located in the brain stem, might be a key stage in a migraine attack’s development.

Lasmiditan (Reyvow) is the only drug in this class, and it has approval as an acute migraine treatment.

Antiemetics

If your migraine attacks include nausea and vomiting, your doctor may prescribe an oral antinausea drug, also known as an antiemetic, to take along with a pain-relieving medication. Antiemetics used for migraine relief include:

chlorpromazine
prochlorperazine (Compro)
metoclopramide (Reglan)
droperidol (Inapsine)

Metoclopramide increases muscle contractions in the upper digestive tract to speed up the rate at which food in the stomach moves to the small intestine.

Chlorpromazine,

droperidol,

and prochlorperazine,

in contrast, control nausea by blocking chemicals in the brain linked to vomiting.

Antihypertensive Medications

People typically use beta-blockers to manage high blood pressure and coronary artery disease, but doctors also commonly prescribe them to prevent migraine attacks.

Examples of beta-blockers that may help treat migraine include:

propranolol (Inderal LA or Innopran XL)
metoprolol tartrate (Lopressor)
timolol (Betimol)

More research is necessary to understand how beta-blockers work for people with migraine.

Side effects might include depression, insomnia, nausea, and extreme tiredness.

Calcium channel blockers are another blood pressure medication that may help prevent migraine attacks.

One common example is verapamil (Calan, Verelan).

Antidepressants

Certain antidepressants may help prevent some types of headaches, including migraine attacks.

Tricyclic antidepressants work by changing the levels of serotonin and other chemicals in your brain. To date, amitriptyline (Elavil) is the only tricyclic antidepressant proven to prevent migraine attacks. Side effects can include dry mouth, constipation, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, and others.

Limited studies indicate that fluoxetine (Prozac), which is in another class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and venlafaxine (Effexor XR), a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), may also help prevent migraine attacks.

Antiseizure Drugs

Certain antiseizure or antiepileptic drugs, including divalproex sodium (Depakote) and topiramate (Topamax), have been shown to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks. They’re available as tablets, capsules, and sprinkle capsules, or capsules full of small beads of medication designed to be sprinkled over soft foods.

The exact way in which these medications prevent migraine attacks is unclear. You would take them as a daily or twice-daily dose.

Antiseizure drugs have significant side effects, including nausea, fatigue, unexpected weight changes, hair loss, dizziness, diarrhea, and concentration problems.

Doctors recommend against using them if you're pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

Botox

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) to treat adults with chronic migraine. Doctors inject the drug into around 31 areas in the forehead and neck, where it reduces muscle contractions and blocks pain signals in the nerves for around 12 weeks.

Botox injections can reduce the number of migraine attacks by around half. They commonly cause neck soreness as a temporary side effect, which may feel better after applying an ice pack.

You’ll have injections about every three months, and you may not feel the benefits until your second or third treatment. In the meantime, you can take other migraine medications without the risk of harmful interactions.

CGRP Monoclonal Antibodies

CGRP monoclonal antibodies are lab-made proteins that specifically target CGRP in the body to reduce its effect on pain and inflammation.

CGRP antibody drugs include:

eptinezumab (Vyepti)
erenumab (Aimovig)
fremanezumab (Ajovy)
galcanezumab (Emgality)

CGRP monoclonal antibodies are a preventive migraine treatment.

A review of data published in 2023 concluded that they reduced the number of migraine days compared with placebo in both episodic and chronic migraine.

People receive CGRP antibodies either as an intravenous (IV) infusion once every three months, or as a monthly injection.

Each monoclonal antibody carries a risk of different side effects. For example, erenumab may lead to constipation, ulcers, higher blood pressure, and hair loss. Eptinezumab might cause a scratchy throat or stuffy nose.

Corticosteroids, or Steroids

Doctors may prescribe steroid medications, including methylprednisolone and dexamethasone, to treat a migraine headache that hasn’t responded to other treatments or that has lasted more than 72 hours, known as status migrainosus. Most studies on steroids for migraine relief have shown that these drugs are most useful for migraine prevention, leading to milder migraine attacks.

Doctors prescribe steroids, especially dexamethasone, in conjunction with other types of migraine drugs, such as triptans, to improve pain relief. They may administer steroids by IV in a hospital or clinic.

Steroids are only suitable for short-term use as they have a risk of side effects including insomnia and high blood sugar.

Nerve Blocks for Acute Migraine Pain Relief

A nerve block involves injecting small amounts of a numbing medicine such as lidocaine or bupivacaine into the base of the skull, over the eyes, or in the temple to block pain signals from the nerves. Nerve blocks can relieve pain within minutes, and the effects may last for days, weeks, or even months.

A doctor can also inject a nerve block into myofascial trigger points, which may relieve pain in these hypersensitive areas. Myofascial trigger points are nodules in skeletal muscle that are painful under pressure that can also cause pain in other areas of the body.

Pressing on myofascial trigger points may provoke a migraine attack in some people with migraine.

Emergency Medication for Intractable Migraine

Doctors usually refer to a severe migraine attack that lasts for more than 72 hours and doesn’t respond to a person’s usual acute therapies as an intractable migraine, or status migrainosus. It’s often necessary to seek additional treatment in the emergency department in those cases, where a number of drugs can be administered intravenously to help break the headache cycle.

Those drugs may include:

Antiepileptics
Triptans
NSAIDs
Steroids
Muscle relaxants
Antipsychotic medications

Intractable migraine can be debilitating and worrying, and you might not be able to think clearly when you get to the ER. Consider asking your regular doctor to write down and sign an emergency migraine treatment plan for you to bring with you to the hospital or urgent care center. This can help you access the medications that are most effective for you.

Ideally, your emergency migraine treatment plan should include:

Your diagnosis
Any relevant information about your medical history
Your doctor’s recommendations for the safest and most effective medications for you
Your doctor’s signature and contact information

Nerve Stimulation Devices

Nerve stimulation devices, or neuromodulation devices, per Migraine Again, deliver electrical or magnetic pulses to specific nerves or areas of the brain to either prevent migraine attacks or reduce the severity of symptoms during attacks.

Several nerve stimulation devices are already on the market for migraine, and others are in development:

Cefaly Cefaly is an external trigeminal nerve stimulator that sends electrical impulses through a self-adhesive electrode placed on the forehead to stimulate the trigeminal nerve.
This reduces the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks. It’s available without a prescription.
Nerivio Nerivio is a remote neuromodulation armband device for the acute and preventive treatment of migraine with or without aura in people aged eight years and older.
The device is available with a doctor’s prescription and is controlled by an app designed to provide personalized treatments.
GammaCore The GammaCore Sapphire is a handheld device that delivers small electrical pulses to the vagus nerve on either side of the neck to treat or prevent migraine, as well as cluster headaches.
The rechargeable device requires a doctor’s prescription and is designed for multiyear use.
Relivion The Relivion is a headset device that delivers electrical pulses to stimulate the occipital and trigeminal nerves.
It has FDA approval for acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in people ages 18 and older.
SAVI Dual The SAVI Dual is a handheld device that delivers a magnetic pulse to the back of the head that’s intended to interrupt abnormal electrical activity in the brain associated with migraine attacks. It requires a doctor’s prescription and can be used to treat or prevent migraine attacks.

Home Remedies and Lifestyle Measures

You can try several approaches at home that may help relieve migraine symptoms if you feel an attack coming on or once it has started. These might include:

Hot or cold compresses on your head and neck
A warm shower or bath
Rest in a dark, quiet room
Yoga, the regular practice of which may also help to prevent attacks

Certain factors in the environment, diet, or everyday life may trigger migraine attacks for some people. Avoiding triggers where possible might also help to prevent migraine, although this isn’t always possible, and triggers often differ from person to person. Known migraine triggers include:

Alcoholic drinks
Changing your routine with caffeinated drinks, like coffee
Stress
Extreme sensory input, like bright lights, strong smells, and loud sounds
Hormonal changes in women, including during menstruation and while taking hormonal contraception (although some find that migraine attacks are less frequent while using this)
Changes in sleep patterns
Intense physical effort, including exercise and sex
Other medications, like those that cause blood vessels to expand including nitroglycerin
Changes in weather or air pressure
Some foods, included salty food, processed foods, or aged cheese
Skipping meals
Food additives including monosodium glutamate (MSG)

Tracking your experience in a diary can help you and your doctor learn more about what triggers your migraine attacks, as well as what treatments are most effective.

Home Nausea Remedies

If a migraine attack makes you feel sick, taking the following steps may help you feel better:

Drink cold, clear beverages, slowly.
Stick to bland, light foods, like plain bread or saltine crackers.
Steer clear of greasy or fried foods.
Avoid moving around too much after eating food.
Avoid brushing your teeth too soon after eating.

Some doctors recommend around 1 gram of ginger per day (split up into different doses) as an herbal remedy for managing nausea. Discuss how to dose ginger appropriately for nausea management with a healthcare professional.

Complementary and Integrative Approaches

A variety of complementary therapies may help you manage your chronic migraine pain alongside conventional treatment.

Supplements

There is some evidence that certain so-called nutraceuticals — vitamin or herbal supplements — can help prevent migraine attacks. These include:

Magnesium
Riboflavin
Feverfew
CoQ10
Melatonin

Talk to your doctor about what specific product and dose might be helpful. Note that supplements aren’t regulated the same way drugs are, so you should do some research to be sure the product you’re taking is safe and contains the right amount of the active ingredient.

Acupuncture

A traditional Chinese medicine modality, acupuncture involves inserting tiny needles into the skin to stimulate the flow of energy along particular pathways in the body.

A review of studies on the treatment found acupuncture to be “mildly more effective and much safer than medication” for the prevention of migraine attacks in adults with migraine.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a technique that may help you to consciously control certain automatic bodily functions, such as heart rate, muscle tension, and skin temperature. Sensors are applied to your muscles, fingertips, or elsewhere, and you learn, with the help of a trained therapist, how to improve control over specific bodily functions. Once you've learned the techniques, you can use them without being hooked up to the biofeedback equipment.

Some forms of biofeedback training might be effective at alleviating migraine symptoms and associated psychological distress.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

In this method of relaxation training, a person tenses then relaxes each muscle group in the body in order. The exercise enables a person to sense more clearly what a tensed and a relaxed muscle feels like, and it also tends to leave a person feeling more relaxed.

With a therapist who specializes in progressive muscle relaxation, you may spend time focusing on your breathing or visualizing a relaxing scene. When practiced regularly, progressive muscle relaxation can bring about a sense of relaxation quickly and may reduce a person’s number of monthly headache days.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach in which the patient develops an awareness of dysfunctional thoughts that lead to negative feelings and learns to change those thoughts.

CBT uses a variety of tools to facilitate this process, including challenging the truthfulness of an idea or belief, such as “My migraine attacks will never get better,” learning relaxation techniques, and developing problem-solving skills. Studies of CBT have found that it reduces headache intensity in people with migraine, reduces medication use, reduces depression and anxiety, and improves quality of life.

The first step toward trying these complementary therapies for migraine is to find a trained practitioner. Speak to the doctor who treats your migraine about the availability of such specialists in your area. Sometimes, online or telemedicine versions of a therapy may be available.

The Takeaway

Many options are available to both prevent and treat migraine attacks as they happen.
These range from over-the-counter pain relievers to prescription oral and intravenous drugs, CGRP agonists and antibodies, and nerve stimulation devices.
Speak to a doctor about which migraine treatments are right for you, and know that a trial-and-error period may be necessary before you see improvement in your symptoms and quality of life.

Jason Paul Chua, MD, PhD

Medical Reviewer

Jason Chua, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Division of Movement Disorders at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He received his training at the University of Michigan, where he obtained medical and graduate degrees, then completed a residency in neurology and a combined clinical/research fellowship in movement disorders and neurodegeneration.

Dr. Chua’s primary research interests are in neurodegenerative disease, with a special focus on the cellular housekeeping pathway of autophagy and its impact on disease development in diseases such as Parkinson disease. His work has been supported by multiple research training and career development grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the American Academy of Neurology. He is the primary or coauthor of 14 peer-reviewed scientific publications and two peer-reviewed online learning modules from the American Academy of Neurology. He is also a contributing author to The Little Black Book of Neurology by Osama Zaldat, MD and Alan Lerner, MD, and has peer reviewed for the scientific journals Autophagy, eLife, and Neurobiology of Disease.

See full bio

Adam Felman

Author

Adam is a freelance writer and editor based in Sussex, England. He loves creating content that helps people and animals feel better. His credits include Medical News Today, Greatist, ZOE, MyLifeforce, and Rover, and he also spent a stint as senior updates editor for Screen Rant.

As a hearing aid user and hearing loss advocate, Adam greatly values content that illuminates invisible disabilities. (He's also a music producer and loves the opportunity to explore the junction at which hearing loss and music collide head-on.)

In his spare time, Adam enjoys running along Worthing seafront, hanging out with his rescue dog, Maggie, and performing loop artistry for disgruntled-looking rooms of 10 people or less.

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Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

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