4Head Headache Relief Stick (3.6g)
From £4.99
We’re here to help.
Our friendly team is available to help Monday to Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm.
If you need urgent assistance, do not use this service. Call 111, or in an emergency call 999.
Our friendly team is available to help Monday to Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm.
If you need urgent assistance, do not use this service. Call 111, or in an emergency call 999.
Diagnosed with migraine? You can order the migraine tablets or nasal spray that work for you without waiting for a GP appointment. Complete a confidential online consultation and a GPhC-registered pharmacist independent prescriber will check it’s safe to supply. We share the outcome with your GP, so your records stay up to date.
Your diagnosis, how often you get attacks and what you already use
A pharmacist independent prescriber checks it’s safe to supply
Dispatched from our UK pharmacy by Royal Mail Tracked or Special Delivery
Migraine is a common neurological condition that causes attacks of moderate to severe, often throbbing, headache, usually with feeling sick and sensitivity to light and sound. Attacks can last from 4 hours to 3 days. Treatment aims to give fast migraine relief when an attack starts, and to reduce how often attacks happen if they’re frequent.
For an attack, UK guidance (NICE) recommends starting with a painkiller such as aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol, or a triptan. Combining a triptan with an anti-inflammatory painkiller such as naproxen or ibuprofen, or with paracetamol, often works better than either alone. Triptans such as sumatriptan, rizatriptan and zolmitriptan work on the nerve pathways involved in migraine. They’re most effective taken as soon as the headache starts. If you feel sick or vomit early in an attack, a wafer that melts on the tongue or a nasal spray can help.
Using painkillers or triptans too often can make headaches worse. This is called medication overuse headache. NICE defines it as using triptans or codeine-containing painkillers on 10 or more days a month, or simple painkillers on 15 or more days, for more than 3 months. Keep below those limits, and see your GP if you’re near them. If you get migraine often, or your attacks are severe despite treatment, ask your GP about preventive treatment. Our migraine prevention guide explains the options.
Our online service is for adults whose migraine has already been diagnosed by a doctor. A new headache, a change in your usual pattern, or headaches with other symptoms need a face-to-face assessment. Our migraine guide covers the symptoms, types and causes.
Triptans need a prescription. We supply the triptan, strength and form you already use, or a first triptan if your migraine is diagnosed and painkillers haven’t been enough. Migraleve and 4Head are pharmacy medicines that our pharmacists check before supply.
| Medicine | Type | How you take it | How fast it works | Good to know | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sumatriptan 50mg or 100mg | Triptan (prescription) | Tablet | Often within an hour | The most widely used triptan | £11.99 |
| Rizatriptan 10mg | Triptan (prescription) | Melts on the tongue | About as fast as a tablet | No water needed; not with propranolol at this dose | £19.99 |
| Maxalt Melt 10mg (rizatriptan) | Triptan (prescription) | Melts on the tongue | About as fast as a tablet | Branded rizatriptan | £23.99 |
| Zolmitriptan 2.5mg | Triptan (prescription) | Tablet | Often within an hour | An alternative if sumatriptan doesn’t suit | £33.99 |
| Almotriptan 12.5mg | Triptan (prescription) | Tablet | Often within an hour | An alternative if sumatriptan doesn’t suit | £24.99 |
| Imigran Nasal Spray 10mg or 20mg (sumatriptan) | Triptan (prescription) | Nasal spray | Can work faster than tablets | Useful if you vomit early in an attack | £24.99 |
| Zomig Nasal Spray 5mg (zolmitriptan) | Triptan (prescription) | Nasal spray | Can start within about 15 minutes | Useful if you vomit early in an attack | £49.99 |
| Naproxen 500mg | Anti-inflammatory painkiller (prescription) | Tablet, with food | Usually within an hour | Can be taken with a triptan; used off-label for migraine | £19.99 |
| Migraleve Pink | Painkiller with anti-sickness medicine (pharmacy) | Tablet, at the start of an attack | Usually 30 to 60 minutes | Contains codeine; adults 18+, up to 3 days | £12.99 |
| Migraleve Yellow | Painkiller (pharmacy) | Tablet, after Migraleve Pink | Usually 30 to 60 minutes | Contains codeine; adults 18+, up to 3 days | £9.99 |
| Migraleve Complete | Pink and yellow tablets in one pack | Tablet | Usually 30 to 60 minutes | Contains codeine; adults 18+, up to 3 days | £12.99 |
| 4Head stick | Cooling stick (general sale) | Rubbed on the forehead | Cooling within minutes | Contains levomenthol; no tablets | £4.99 |
Not sure which medicine is right for you? Your prescriber will check your answers and your other medicines.
It takes a few minutes. We ask about your migraines, your health and your other medicines, because triptans aren’t safe for everyone.
Tell us who diagnosed your migraine, how often you get attacks, what you use now, and about your heart health, blood pressure and other medicines.
A pharmacist independent prescriber checks it’s safe to supply. If your answers suggest you need a review or a preventive treatment, they’ll tell you and may ask you to see your GP.
With your consent, we send your GP a summary, so your records stay complete.
If approved before 3pm, Monday to Friday, it’s dispatched the same day in plain packaging. You choose Royal Mail Tracked 48, Tracked 24 or Special Delivery guaranteed by 1pm next working day. Delivery is free on orders over £40.
Most headaches aren’t serious, but some need urgent care. Call NHS 111 or see your GP soon if your headaches are new and you’re over 50, are getting steadily worse, wake you from sleep, are worse when you lie down, cough or strain, or come with changes in your vision. See our migraine symptoms guide for what’s typical of migraine.
Call 999 or go to A&E if you have:
We can supply a triptan if you’re aged 18 to 65, a doctor has diagnosed your migraine, you’re asking for the same triptan, strength and form you already use (or your first triptan, if painkillers haven’t been enough), and you agree to us sharing the consultation with your GP. Migraleve is for adults 18 and over. Please see your GP instead if any of these apply:
Getting the timing and the limits right makes a big difference to how well migraine medicines work.
Take a triptan as soon as the headache starts. If you get aura, wait until the headache begins, because triptans taken during aura may not work. If the first dose works but the headache comes back, you can take a second dose after at least 2 hours, within the maximum for your triptan. If the first dose doesn’t work, don’t take a second dose for the same attack. Try your triptan on 2 or 3 separate attacks before deciding it doesn’t work for you. Our triptans guide compares them.
Keep a headache diary. If you need treatment on 10 or more days a month, speak to your GP, because frequent use can cause medication overuse headache. Migraleve contains codeine, which can cause addiction. Use it for no more than 3 days at a time.
Tell your prescriber about all your medicines. Triptans can interact with some antidepressants (such as SSRIs, SNRIs and MAOIs) and with propranolol (rizatriptan), and the combined pill isn’t safe if you have migraine with aura. See our guide to migraine and the contraceptive pill. You can report side effects through the MHRA Yellow Card scheme (yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk).
Access Doctor is a private service. Triptans and naproxen are prescription-only medicines; Migraleve is a pharmacy medicine. Before anything is supplied, a GPhC-registered pharmacist checks your answers.
Your consultation is confidential. We share it with your GP because migraine can need ongoing care, including preventive treatment, and your GP needs to know what you’re using. Your GP practice can prescribe migraine treatment on the NHS, and pharmacies can sell a pack of 2 sumatriptan 50mg tablets without a prescription after a pharmacist’s check.
NHS prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England a prescription charge applies unless you’re exempt, and a prepayment certificate can save money if you need several items. For urgent advice, call NHS 111, or 999 in an emergency.
Helpful reads on migraine, its treatment and prevention.
Our main guide to migraine.
Read guideSumatriptan, rizatriptan, zolmitriptan and the others: which suits whom.
Read guideDose, timing and taking it with a triptan.
Read guideThe four phases, and when a headache needs urgent help.
Read guidePreventive medicines and when to consider them.
Read guideWhat aura is, and what it means for treatment and the pill.
Read guideAnswers about ordering migraine medicine online, and using it safely.
Yes, if you’re aged 18 to 65 and a doctor has diagnosed your migraine. A GPhC-registered pharmacist independent prescriber reviews your consultation and, if it’s safe, we supply your medicine and let your GP know. If your headaches are new, have changed, or come with other symptoms, please see your GP first.
There isn’t one best medicine for everyone. NICE recommends trying a painkiller such as aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol, or a triptan, and combining a triptan with an anti-inflammatory painkiller or paracetamol if one alone isn’t enough. Sumatriptan is usually tried first among triptans. If one triptan doesn’t work after 2 or 3 attacks, another may. Our triptans guide compares them.
For most people with moderate to severe attacks, triptan tablets or nasal sprays work better than ordinary painkillers. Taking a triptan together with an anti-inflammatory such as naproxen is more effective than either alone. Stronger doesn’t always mean better: codeine and other opioids aren’t recommended for migraine, and any medicine used too often can make headaches worse.
Yes, some. Paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen are sold widely. Migraleve, which contains codeine, is a pharmacy medicine. Sumatriptan 50mg is available from pharmacies without a prescription, in packs of 2, for adults aged 18 to 65 whose migraine has been diagnosed, after a pharmacist’s check. Other triptans, other sumatriptan strengths, nasal sprays and naproxen for migraine need a prescription.
Sumatriptan tablets, rizatriptan and Maxalt Melt wafers, zolmitriptan and almotriptan tablets, and the Imigran and Zomig nasal sprays. We supply the one you already use, at the same strength and in the same form.
No. We supply the same triptan, strength and form you already use. If yours isn’t working, or you’d like to try a wafer or nasal spray, please speak to your GP, who can review your treatment with your full history. The exception is a first triptan for someone with diagnosed migraine whose painkillers haven’t been enough.
Up to 2 packs at a time. If you need a triptan on 10 or more days a month, we’ll ask you to see your GP, because using triptans that often can cause medication overuse headache, and you may benefit from preventive treatment.
Yes. NICE recommends a triptan combined with an anti-inflammatory painkiller (such as naproxen or ibuprofen) or with paracetamol, and the combination often works better than either alone. Don’t take two anti-inflammatories together. Take naproxen and ibuprofen with food. They aren’t suitable if you’ve had a stomach ulcer, or have some kidney or heart conditions.
Migraine medicines aren’t ruled out. NICE advises paracetamol first in pregnancy, and a triptan or anti-inflammatory can be considered after discussing the benefits and risks with your doctor; sumatriptan has the most safety information of the triptans. Sumatriptan is generally considered compatible with breastfeeding. We don’t supply triptans online in pregnancy or while breastfeeding, so your GP is the right place to decide. Anti-inflammatories such as naproxen should be avoided, especially from 20 weeks of pregnancy, and Migraleve (codeine) must not be used while breastfeeding. Please speak to your GP or midwife before using migraine medicine if you’re pregnant, trying for a baby or breastfeeding.
If your consultation is approved before 3pm, Monday to Friday, your medicine is dispatched the same day in plain packaging. You choose Royal Mail Tracked 48, Tracked 24 or Special Delivery guaranteed by 1pm next working day. Orders approved at the weekend or on a bank holiday are dispatched the next working day.
It’s a headache that gets more frequent because painkillers or triptans are taken too often. NICE’s limits are triptans, codeine or combination painkillers on 10 or more days a month, or simple painkillers on 15 or more days, for over 3 months. If you’re using treatment that often, see your GP. Stopping the overused medicine, with support, usually helps. See our chronic migraine guide.
Migraleve combines paracetamol and codeine, and the pink tablets also contain buclizine for nausea. Some people find it helpful, but NICE doesn’t recommend opioids such as codeine for migraine, and codeine can cause addiction and medication overuse headache. We supply it to adults over 18, one pack at a time, for no more than 3 days’ use.
If you have migraine with aura, you shouldn’t use the combined pill, because it raises the risk of stroke. The progestogen-only pill and other methods are usually fine. If you have migraine without aura, the combined pill may be suitable. See our guide to migraine and the contraceptive pill.
If you get migraine often, or your attacks are severe or last a long time despite treatment, ask your GP about prevention. Options include propranolol, amitriptyline and topiramate (topiramate isn’t suitable for women who could become pregnant unless they’re on the pregnancy prevention programme), and specialist treatments for chronic migraine. See our migraine prevention guide.
It is if you use a registered pharmacy that checks your answers before supplying anything. Check the pharmacy is on the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) register at pharmacyregulation.org; Access Doctor’s registration number is 9011198. Avoid websites that sell triptans with no consultation.
Helpful reads related to this treatment area.
Complete a short online consultation. A pharmacist prescriber will check it’s safe to supply, and we’ll let your GP know.
