How to Administer Imitrex

Imitrex is the brand name of a drug called sumatriptan; it is administered to people who suffer from migraine headaches. Imitrex is available in tablet form, as well as in nasal spray and subcutaneous injectable formats. Understanding exactly how to use Imitrex can help you feel better more quickly without the threat of overdose or interactions with other medications.

Things You'll Need

• Water
• Cotton balls
• Rubbing alcohol
• First aid tape
• Tissues

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Instructions

Administer Oral Imitrex

• 1

  Take an Imitrex tablet as soon as you realize you are beginning to get a migraine headache. Drugs.com, an online resource for FDA-approved drug information, explains that the medications will work more effectively if you administer the tablets as soon as you feel symptoms, but does not prevent migraines from occurring.

• 2

  Drink a full 8 oz. glass of water with your oral Imitrex. Refrain from crushing the medication; according to the Mayo Clinic, the potency may be affected if the drug is not taken whole.

• 3

  Administer another tablet of Imitrex, if directed so by your doctor, after 2 hours if your headache has not resolved itself. Drugs.com states that the upper limit for Imitrex dosing is 200 mg within a single 24-hour period.

Administer Imitrex Injections

• 4

  Sterilize an area on your thigh with a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol.

• 5

  Inspect the autoinjector unit that came with your injectable Imitrex to be sure that the dosage is correct. GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Imitrex, explains that the medication is available in both 8mg and 12 mg strengths. The actual amount of medication administered per injection is 0.5 ml.

• 6

  Hold the autoinjector up to your cleansed area of skin and release the spring or other mechanism that delivers the drug under your skin. An autoinjector is a special tool that administers one dose of medication and eliminates the need for you to pinch the skin and to stick yourself with a syringe needle.

• 7

  Place a cotton ball on the injection site and secure it with first aid tape. You may see a spot of blood from the injection site, but prolonged, active bleeding is not common.

Administer Nasal Imitrex

• 8

  Blow your nose before you administer Imitrex in the form of a nasal spray.

• 9

  Spray the mist into each nostril as directed on the packaging. Depending on the dosage your doctor deems appropriate, you may spray more than once for a single dose of Imitrex. Mayo Clinic reports that a typical dosage for adults begins at 5 mg, or one spray in each nostril.

• 10

  Use nasal Imitrex again after 2 hours only if your headache went away and then recurred. The nasal form of Imitrex is not meant to be used again for the same headache if the migraine did not go away within 2 hours. The Mayo Clinic advises patients to contact their doctor if their migraine does not resolve after a dose of nasal Imitrex.