Migraines in ChildrenThe frustration and pain of witnessing migraines in children is compounded and multiplied by the heart brake of seeing your child suffer this malady. Children and headaches, are painful for both the child and the parent. 10% of children get migraines, and an even higher percentage of teenagers have them. Headaches in children are more common than you may think.
 Migraines in children very painful and throbbing, and children who have them often look ill and pale. When Doctors first examine these patients, typically they will focus on ruling out other serious diseases or conditions before they label the condition as simply migraines in children. Treatment of children and headaches consists of finding and avoiding trigger factors in the environment, giving immediate pain relief, and taking preventive drugs. Rest in a dark room and sleep is a usual and beneficial adjunctive treatment. The Beyond Headaches tour can provide insight to methods to help avoid setting your child off on a long path of prescription and over the counter drugs for treatment of migraines in children. Symptoms for Headaches in Children Migraines have numerous signs and symptoms. Typically, a child migraineur (one who experiences frequent migraines) has a severe headache located around the eyes, in the front of the head, or in the temples. Some children experience vision changes ("auras") during a headache. Nausea, a sick feeling in the stomach or vomiting is common. Many children avoid bright lights, loud noises, or strong odors, as these seem to make the headache worse. The severe head pain is often completely relieved by deep sleep. Recurring spells of dizziness may represent another form of migraine in children. Are These Headaches in Children Harmless?Headaches in children and adults have long been considered a relatively "harmless" condition (meaning no permanent damage to the brain itself).In review of children and headaches, both headaches and migraines can cause a lot of damage to a person's quality of life and their ability to take part in normal life activities. The pain is so intense that migraineurs often cannot think or function very well during or right after episodes. Genetic predisposition is believed to contribute a tendency for some people to be more likely to have a migraine after some minor trigger, although no single theory explains how the human body produces all the symptoms of a typical migraine headache. The key to recognizing migraines is identification of a pattern of short but very painful headache episodes that are relieved by sleep and separated by symptom-free intervals. About 75% of children with migraines have to avoid their normal activities because of the symptoms. Similar to studies for adults with migraine headaches and time loss from work, we now have information that demonstrates that migraine headache in children causes serious challenges to their quality of their life. Along with the uncertainty and pain of the migraines come emotional challenges like anxiety or sadness. Frequency of HeadachesStudies suggest that migraine headaches occur in 5-10% of school-aged children. This percentage steadily increases through adolescence and peaks in the fourth decade.Migraine headache in children begins earlier in boys than in girls. From infancy to 7 years, boys are affected slightly more than girls. The prevalence of migraines increases during the adolescentand young adult years, during which 20-30% of young women and 10-20% of young men experience migraines. The Beyond Headaches Tour provides insight and ideas on how to prevent and eliminate this scourge from your family.
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