1. Abortive medication
2. Preventive medication
3. Other medication

The goal in treating acute migraines is to ease the pain within two hours of treatment with no or only minor side effects.

Abortive Medication

These medicines constrict blood vessels around the brain to quickly help reverse or stop (“abort”) headaches and to keep them from being as intense. They work best if you take them as soon as you feel headache symptoms. Abortive treatments are made to act quickly so they are often taken in the nose (“intranasal”), under the tongue (sublingual), or as an injection (shot). Some common abortive treatments include:

• Corticosteroids  These medications, including prednisone and dexamethasone (Decadron), may help relieve severe and prolonged migraines. Steroid use for headaches is normally limited to less than a week. Long-term use can lead to problems such as bone loss and Cushing's syndrome. 
   
• Ergots  These are medications such as ergotamine/caffeine (ErgostatSL, Cafergot, Wigraine), ergotamine (Ergomar) and dihydoergotamine (DHE-45, Migranal). They are not for long-term daily use and should be used only as needed. Use of ergots is typically limited to no more than two days per week. Over-use of ergots can lead to rebound headaches or chronic, daily headaches.
   
• Triptans  These are medications such as sumatriptan (Imitrex), naratriptan (Amerge), rizatriptan (Maxalt) and zolmitriptan (Zomig). They are often very helpful in treating migraines and have fewer side effects than the ergots. Do not use triptans during the aura phase of migraine with aura. 

• Lidocaine Used as a nasal spray, lidocaine can offer fast relief of a migraine headache. It is usually taken as you lie down with your head tilted back and turned toward the side of the headache. Lidocaine usually offers about 10 to 15 minutes of relief. After that time, your headache may come back.

• Mixed analgesics  These medicines have a “mixture” of two or more ingredients that help make them stronger and more able to relieve moderate pain. For example, Excedrin Migraine contains acetaminophen, aspirin and caffeine; Midrin contains isometheptene, acetaminophen and dichloralphenazone.

• NSAIDs and acetaminophen  These medicines may help relieve milder headaches. They can be bought OTC (over-the-counter) or with a prescription. Examples of OTC analgesics are acetaminophen (Tylenol) and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Naprosyn, Naprelan). 

• Opioids  Opioids, or "narcotics," work on the body’s nervous system to block the perception of pain. They are usually used as “rescue medications” when other abortive migraine medicines fail to relieve pain or cannot be taken for some medical reason. Opioids should not be used daily. Use them only "as needed." Ask your health care provider how much and how often you should take this medicine