A migraine is a headache with nausea, with the pulsing pain starting from forehead or around the eyes, gradually getting g worse up to the point where any slight movement of the head or any other activity makes it hurt more. Light or noises also make the pain worse, and it can be accompanied by vomiting as well, lasting up to 2 or 3 days. Migraines are the most common type of pain in children, not only in adults.
Migraine headaches are more frequent in boys, not in girls, especially for children up to 7 years old. Prevalence of headaches increases with age, with about 25%- 30%, especially for girls, after the menarche (the first menstruation). With age, migraines continue to increase, up to the age of 50, when it declines for both sexes.
Usually, the first migraine attack happens before the age of 5 and children who experience migraines look ill and also have pains in the abdomen, vomit and feel the need to sleep. Children aged between 5- 10 who have migraines present the following symptoms: headaches, nausea, need to sleep, sensitivity to sound, light or smell, need to sleep, they will want to go in a dark room, often crying and being irritated. Also, they look pale, sweat excessively, urinate more or even have diarrhea and their eyes tear.
The causes for migraines in children are unknown, but specialists say that it might be the fault of deficiency of serotonin in the child’s brain. Also, there are some triggers for migraines, not only with children, such as chocolate, cheese, nuts, alcohol, sugar, caffeine, Chinese food or shellfish. But, a migraine is usually triggered by several factors, internal and external in the same time.
Migraines have 4 phases, the first one is the premonitory phase (joy or irritability, increased or decreased appetite, talkativeness or withdrawal, sleep disturbances); the aura (right before the migraine begins, lasting for 5-10 minutes, affecting the child’s coordination, consisting of blurred vision, attention loss, confusion, dizziness and vertigo); the headache, which is shorter in kids (cold extremities, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to different external factors) and the postdrome (child feeling either lethargic and exhausted or very energetic).
When it comes to treatment, parents should be aware of the way migraines work and what they should do, and the immediate action is to take the child into a dark room and let him rest, since sleep is the best treatment. Ibuprofen and aspirin can also be given to children in case of migraines.
