What Are Migraines?

Migraines are severe headaches that usually include a pulsing sensation or throbbing pain on one side of the head. They can last for hours or even days, and they can be disabling. Migraine headaches are often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to loud noises and bright lights.

 

How Are Migraines Treated?

Migraines are typically treated with medication. Doctors may prescribe pain relievers, triptans, ergots, anti-nausea medications, opioid medications, or glucocorticoids to help manage the symptoms that accompany migraines. To prevent migraines from occurring, doctors might prescribe cardiovascular medications, antidepressants, anti-seizure medications, pain relievers, or Botox®.

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While doctors may recommend any of these medications, Botox® has a particular advantage over many of the other options. Unlike most of the prescription medications, Botox® isn’t administered orally. It’s given via a small injection into the skin of the forehead. The procedure doesn’t take long, isn’t painful, and it only needs to be done once every few months. Instead of taking pills each day, patients who use Botox® injection for migraine management can simply come to a doctor’s office for a quick appointment every few months.

 

What is Botox?

Botox® is a neurotoxin. Although it’s perhaps most known for its aesthetic uses, it also has a number of medical uses. Doctors will sometimes recommend a Botox® injection for migraines, as well as for an overactive bladder, muscle spasms, muscle stiffness, and excessive sweating.

 

What Are Botox® Injections?

Botox® injections are a neurotoxin that’s administered via a small shot. Botox® is most widely known among the general population for its uses in aesthetic procedures, but it also has a number of medical uses. Doctors successfully use it to treat everything from overactive bladders to migraine headaches. As a neurotoxin, it’s especially effective at reducing muscle spasms, such as the neck spasms that patients with cervical dystonia experience.

 

What Doctors Use a Botox® Injection for Migraines?

While any medical doctor may technically be able to recommend using Botox® injection for migraines, patients who want to discuss this treatment option with a physician should seek out a board-certified neurologist. A neurologist specializes in the neurological system. They’re uniquely qualified to diagnose and address issues with the neurological system, including migraine headaches, and to recommend neurotoxin medications, like Botox®.