How to Get Rid of a Headache or Migraine Attack Fast

Anyone who's experienced the splitting pain of a bad headache or migraine attack knows how difficult it can be to work, drive, or even carry on a conversation while your head is pounding.

But when a headache strikes, you can do more than just crawl into bed and wait for it to go away. Although resting or sleeping may indeed help, other effective headache treatments are available, and there are ways to find quick relief.

Know What’s Causing Your Headache

The best way to get rid of a headache quickly may depend on what’s causing it or what type of headache it is. Some common and less common types and causes of headache include the following:

• Tension-type headaches are the most common headaches. They tend to cause a dull, pressure-type pain on both sides of the head.
• Migraine is also common, affecting nearly 40 million Americans. Migraine attacks tend to cause throbbing pain on one side of the head, though symptoms can also be similar to a tension headache. Migraine is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, dizziness, tingling or numbness, visual disturbances, and sensitivity to light, touch, smell, or sound.
• Consuming too much alcohol results in a hangover, or a headache or migraine that’s accompanied by thirst, fatigue, or nausea.
• When a sinus infection is the cause of a headache, it typically occurs alongside nasal congestion, nasal discharge, decreased sense of smell, and a feeling of pain, pressure, or fullness in the sinuses. Many so-called sinus headaches are actually migraine attacks.
• COVID-19 can cause headaches with migraine or, more commonly, tension-headache characteristics.

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   Headache can be the first symptom of a COVID-19 infection, and the pain can persist for days or weeks.
• Cluster headaches, which are rare, cause severe pain, usually on one side of the head, that lasts from 15 minutes to three hours when untreated. They are accompanied by a runny nose and tears in the eye on the same side of the head as the headache. For most people, cluster headaches occur in a series, lasting weeks or months, separated by remission periods of months or years.
• A brain aneurysm is a weak or thin spot in an artery in the brain that can bulge or rupture, causing bleeding in the brain. The pain caused by a brain aneurysm is often described as the “worst headache you’ve ever had,” and it may be accompanied by such symptoms as dilated pupils, blurred or double vision, pain above and behind an eye, weakness, numbness, or difficulty speaking. If you experience these symptoms, seek medical help immediately.

If headaches are disrupting your life and they don’t respond to the treatments you try, see your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Over-the-Counter Medication for Tension Headache Relief

Just about any over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever, or analgesic, can offer relief for tension headaches, says Jack M. Rozental, MD, PhD, an adjunct lecturer in neurology and a headache specialist at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Medications that contain only one drug, like Tylenol (acetaminophen), Advil (ibuprofen), Aleve (naproxen), and aspirin, are effective headache treatments, he says, as are those that include a combination of aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine.

These pain relievers may also provide relief for hangovers and for headaches related to sinus infections or COVID-19. Some people who have migraine attacks find them effective, particularly if taken at the first sign of an attack.

How quickly OTC pain relievers work depends in part on what formulation you take. For example, liquid medicines, orally disintegrating tablets, and chewable tablets work faster than extended-release pills. How full your stomach is when you take these pain relievers matters, too, with a fuller stomach slowing absorption of the medication.

Your doctor or pharmacist can help you choose among the many OTC pain relievers on the market to make sure you’re using a product that’s safe for you and is likely to help.

Frequent use of OTC analgesics and caffeine-containing medications can lead to medication–overuse headache, so judicious use is recommended.

Prescription Painkillers for Frequent Tension Headaches

For people who have frequent or recurring tension headaches, doctors sometimes recommend prescription-strength doses of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen.

Indomethacin (Indocin), an NSAID that is available only by prescription, is "usually used for arthritis but can also be very useful as a headache treatment," Dr. Rozental says. "Indomethacin's downside is that it is among the drugs most likely to cause gastric irritation as a side effect," including stomach ulcers and bleeding. Like all NSAIDs, indomethacin can harm kidney function if taken at high doses or chronically.

Treatments for Quick Migraine Relief

Treating migraine symptoms right away can shorten the attack, which otherwise can last from hours to days.

The types of medications that can alleviate symptoms once a migraine attack has started are known as acute, or abortive, medications. These include OTC pain relievers such as aspirin and ibuprofen, prescription medications such as triptans, and a new class of drugs called CGRP receptor antagonists (gepants).

Not everyone with migraine will respond to all of these drugs. You may need to try several before finding the drug or combination of drugs — and the doses — that work best for you.

Triptans The triptan drugs available in the United States are almotriptan (Axert), eletriptan (Relpax), frovatriptan (Frova), naratriptan (Amerge), sumatriptan (Imitrex), and zolmitriptan (Zomig). All triptans are available in pill form. Sumatriptan and zolmitriptan also come as a nasal spray, and sumatriptan is available in an injectable form, too. Rizatriptan is available in pill form (Maxalt) and as a dissolving oral film (RizaFilm). A combination of rizatriptan and meloxicam (Symbravo) comes in pill form.

Triptan injections start working in about 10 minutes, nasal sprays start working in 10 to 15 minutes, and most pills start working in 30 to 60 minutes. The exceptions are the longer-acting triptans, frovatriptan and naratriptan, which take one to three hours to start working. In general, taking medications on a full stomach may delay absorption and time to peak effectiveness.

CGRP Receptor Antagonists Referred to as gepants, three CGRP receptor antagonists are available for the acute treatment of migraine: rimegepant (Nurtec ODT), ubrogepant (Ubrelvy), and zavegepant (Zavzpret). Rimegepant and ubrogepant are oral tablets that start reducing pain in about one hour. Zavegepant is a nasal spray that starts working as fast as 15 minutes for some people. Gepants may be alternatives for those who can’t take triptans or don’t get relief from them. Another medication in this class, atogepant (Qulipta), is available as a preventive migraine treatment.

While Migranal and Trudhesa contain the same drug, Trudhesa delivers the drug higher in the nasal cavity, an area rich in blood vessels, meaning it should start working faster.

Neurostimulation Devices A helpful nondrug companion to migraine medications, a neurostimulation (or neuromodulation) device delivers electric or magnetic pulses to nerves that are directly or indirectly involved in pain processing. Several devices targeting different nerves are available, and all can be used for acute treatment of migraine. They are most effective when used as early as possible after the start of symptoms.

Anti-Nausea Drugs The drugs used to treat migraine pain may also relieve other symptoms, including nausea and vomiting. But if your migraine therapies are not relieving nausea and vomiting, speak to your doctor about prescription anti-nausea drugs.

Acute Treatment for Cluster Headaches

• Inhaled oxygen
• Injected or nasal triptans
• Injected dihydroergotamine
• Topical lidocaine nasal drops or nasal spray

Another option for treating cluster headaches is the drug galcanezumab (Emgality), which in 2019 became the first drug specifically approved for this type of headache. It’s also approved for the prevention of migraine attacks. Emgality belongs to a class of drugs known as CGRP antibodies.

When used to treat cluster headaches, Emgality is self-administered using three 100 milligram (mg) prefilled syringes, which are taken one after the other at the start of a cluster period and then every month until the end of the cluster period.

The nerve stimulation device GammaCore Sapphire is also approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat cluster headaches. The device is held against the front of the neck to stimulate the vagus nerve during an attack.

How to Treat Medication-Overuse Headaches

Frequent use of any acute headache medication, including OTC drugs, can cause what are known as rebound, or medication-overuse, headaches, says Rozental. By definition, a medication-overuse headache occurs on 15 or more days of the month as a consequence of regular overuse of acute or symptomatic headache medication.

Am I at Risk for Chronic Daily Headache?

The two most common types of chronic daily headache are chronic migraine and chronic tension-type headache, although people diagnosed with chronic migraine often have symptoms of chronic tension-type headache, and vice versa.

Individuals with chronic daily headache often have a diagnosis of medication-overuse headache, too.

If your head pain or other symptoms cause you to frequently take short-acting medication, talk to your doctor about being referred to a headache specialist, who should be able to identify medical treatments as well as lifestyle or behavioral changes that can prevent your symptoms while also reducing your reliance on acute medications.

Home Remedies to Ease a Headache or Migraine Attack

Many headache symptoms can be at least partially alleviated without medication. Here are some tips for homemade headache and migraine relief.

Have a big glass of water. Dehydration can trigger a migraine attack or lead to a nonmigraine headache. Replacing the liquids your body needs may help relieve the pain.

Practice a relaxation technique. Meditate, breathe deeply, and try to visualize a peaceful image. "Various relaxation techniques can significantly help patients with muscle contraction headaches," says Rozental.

Close your eyes and rest. This is an effective treatment for headaches associated with migraine, and it can help ease a tension headache as well. Sit or lie down in a quiet, dark room with your eyes closed and just relax for a bit. "Patients with migraine instinctively seek out a dark, quiet environment in which they can go to sleep for at least a few hours,” Rozental says. “Sleep frequently diminishes or eliminates the pain."

Self-Care Tips to Prevent Headaches and Migraine Attacks

You may be able to prevent some headaches and migraine attacks by avoiding the triggers that set them off. Here are some wellness tips that may help.

Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to a headache or trigger a migraine attack, and a chronic lack of sleep — caused by sleep apnea, for example — can also cause headaches. If you snore or suspect that you have sleep apnea, see your healthcare provider for help. Whether or not you snore, try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day to avoid triggering a migraine attack.

Maintain a healthy weight. In younger people, up to about age 50, obesity raises the risk of migraine. And in people with episodic migraine, it raises the risk of chronic migraine.

The Takeaway

• Common causes of tension headaches, migraine attacks, and cluster headaches include sinus infections, COVID-19, drinking too much alcohol, and rarely, brain aneurysms, while medication-overuse headaches are due to taking OTC headache medications too often.
• Tension headaches, the most common type, often respond to OTC pain relievers, and prescription NSAIDs are available for those who get these frequently.
• Medications that offer quick migraine relief are available with a prescription in the form of pills, injections, nasal sprays, and a dissolvable oral film, while treatments for cluster headaches include supplemental oxygen, nerve stimulation, local anesthetics, and prescription injections and nasal sprays.
• Hot and cold therapy, relaxation techniques, massage, and rest are among the home remedies for headache pain. Self-care that can help prevent headaches includes getting the right amount of sleep, eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, limiting alcohol and tobacco, and managing stress.

Additional reporting by Ingrid Strauch.