Migraine Term of the Day: Rescue Medication

Writer’s note: Some of you have expressed an interest in learning more of the medical terminology that comes up when discussing migraine disease and other headache disorders. So, I’ll be posting a “term of the day,” on a regular basis. If there are terms you’d like to have defined, please leave a comment below.

When we’re given migraine and headache information, whether from our doctor, a book, or an online article, we sometimes come across medical terms that can be confusing. While it’s easy enough to substitute another word or a short phrase for the medical term, there are times when substituting doesn’t quite convey the same meaning.

Rescue Medication is one of those terms.** Rescue Medications** are those taken if _abortive medications _ fail or if we can’t take the abortive medications. Most rescue medications are pain medications. Other types of medications are also used to help get through a Migraine by reducing nausea and helping Migraineurs relax. They don’t have the ability to abort a Migraine, but will hopefully mask the pain for a few hours while the Migraine runs its course.

You can read more about rescue medications in:

• _Preventive, Abortive, and Rescue Medications - What’s the Difference? _

For more terms, see our Migraine Medical Terms Glossary Index.