The main objective of migraine relief is to relieve the pain after it has started and just before it gets worse. Generally, migraine relief aims to rapidly relieve the pain, try to prevent additional symptoms such as nausea or vomiting and to offer a cost effective sustained relief. Most of the people, even before diagnosing as migraine, prefer to take over-the-counter medicines, which are got without a prescription and generally include ibuprofen, aspirin and acetaminophen.

OTC medicines may be effective for some people with migraine but it is always advisable to use with caution because, sometimes, OTC medicines may actually worsen the headache, rather than relieving it. Such medicines may also cause rebound headaches. So, it is good to consult a physician if a person takes OTC medicines more than three times a week. The best way for migraine relief is prescription medicines. For acute migraine pain relief, class of medicines called “triptans" is proving to be highly successful.

Triptans constrict the blood vessels in the brain, which causes the throbbing pain and brings them back to normal size, thus offering great relief. Triptans are not only good in relieving the headache but also in treating other symptoms of headache such as nausea and sensitivity to light. To make the best use of triptans, it is advisable to take them at the very first sign of pain. There are other remedies also for migraine headache. Applying cold compresses or simply taking rest in a room devoid of light may help to relieve migraine headache.

The migraine headache relief is said to be effective if, apart from relieving the pain, the medication also relieves nausea and other symptoms associated with migraine headache. Generally, migraine relief therapy works within two hours and refrains the pain from reoccurring. When some people tend to overuse pain relief medicines, whether they are OTC or prescription medicines, a type of headache called chronic daily headache may occur. When the effect of the pain relief medicine wears off, the pain often worsens and hence the name rebound headache.

There are other natural methods of relieving migraine headache such as relaxation training and stress management. Relaxation training involves progressive muscle relaxation and meditation, which provide techniques to gain control over the body's response to migraine headaches. The trigger which causes the migraine headache may be physical, mental, or emotional, which causes imbalance in human body in some way or other. Stress management is a natural approach to relieve the pain of migraine by reducing the self-generated stress.

But once a person has a migraine headache, relief therapy can be the only solution for which he or she has to take the medication in the early stages of showing the symptoms. As always, the best migraine relief can be the one that suits the health condition of an individual, which may vary from one person to another.