How to Manage Migraine-Related Nausea

Medically Reviewed by Jabeen Begum, MD on November 03, 2021
Written by Martin Taylor
2 min read

Nausea and vomiting are common symptoms of migraines. Migraine-related nausea occurs in at least 60% of people with migraines. Nausea and vomiting can make stopping your migraine more difficult, especially with oral medications. In fact, most migraine medication is taken orally, so if you’re vomiting or nauseous, you're more likely to be unable to treat the underlying cause of your nausea. 

Migraines are intense and can leave you with throbbing pain on one or both sides of your head. While the most common symptom of migraines is severe headache, nausea and vomiting can be present along with sensitivity to light and sound.‌

Some home remedies for treating migraine symptoms like nausea include: 

  • Resting in a dark, quiet, and cool room
  • Applying a cold washcloth to your forehead or behind your neck
  • Massaging your scalp
  • Applying pressure to your temples in a circular motion
  • Keeping yourself in a calm, meditative state
  • Yoga

If these solutions don't work for you, you might need to take medication to help with the pain and nausea.‌

Triptans are painkillers specifically for migraine headaches. You can take these with over-the-counter (OTC) painkillers like ibuprofen. Triptans come in different forms, including: 

  • Tablets
  • Injections
  • Nasal spray

This means you can choose the form that you’re most comfortable taking. In addition to triptans, your doctor may prescribe anti-sickness medication. These work together to combat your migraine-related nausea. 

Frovatriptan (Frova) and almotriptan (Axert) are two of the oral triptans that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They’re more effective and have fewer adverse reactions than other options.‌

Abortive migraine medications are used to immediately stop the effects of a migraine. You should take these at the first sign of migraine symptoms. Taking them when your pain is mild should keep your symptoms from getting worse. Abortive medicines should also help reduce other migraine symptoms like nausea and sensitivity to light. 

Metoclopramide (Reglan) is one of the most recommended treatments for migraine pain. Its main purpose is to treat your migraine-related nausea and help your gastric motility. Other abortive treatments for migraines include caffeine and sleep. 

These treatments should help reduce your pain at the onset of migraine symptoms. Since nausea is one of the most common symptoms of migraines after head pain, reducing your pain level is likely to reduce your nausea and vomiting as well. You should talk to your doctor if your migraine-related nausea does not go away.