Children, unlike adults, often have a difficult time describing and self-diagnosing their migraines. Children might describe a throbbing or pounding in the head or severe nausea. Parents should always take a child to a doctor if they suspect he is experiencing a migraine to ensure that there is no serious underlying cause, such as restricted blood flow to the brain. Several remedies may aid in childhood migraine treatment and prevention.
Identification
Expansion and contraction of arteries around the skull produces pulsating migraines. Pain receptors recognize a change in blood pressure as vessels become swollen. Anxiety, stress or depression can exacerbate symptoms. Having a child evaluated for these common migraine problems will help parents and the child learn whether reducing overall stress, and subsequently blood pressure, may alleviate the migraines.
Considerations
The National Headache Foundation indicates that of the 3 percent of people diagnosed with abdominal migraines, most are children. Abdominal migraines are characterized by symptoms such as nausea followed by vomiting and diarrhea before the headache phase begins. Parents who suffer from migraines are more likely to have children who experience abdominal migraines.
Treatment
During an attack, a parent should have the child relax in a dark room and encourage her to try to asleep. Sleep is often the most useful treatment for migraines in children, since strong migraine medications are not approved for use in children. MayoClinic.com indicates that applying a cool cloth to the child’s forehead and neck should decrease blood flow to the head and consequently mitigate pain.
Prevention
Keeping a headache diary will help a parent discover any environment- and diet-related migraine triggers for her child. The diary should detail all events within 12 hours of the attack, including when the attack began, the location of pain, all food and beverages consumed before the attack and over-the-counter medications taken before and during the migraine.
Parents should limit certain types of food for children who experience migraines. For instance, the American Headache Society indicates that caffeine and MSG--monosodium glutamate--are common migraine triggers.
Warnings
Many medications have not been tested for effectiveness in children or adolescents. In addition, many over-the-counter medications contain caffeine, which can trigger rebound migraines in people of all ages. Never give aspirin to people under the age of 16, because it may induce a rare but serious condition called Reye’s syndrome. Be careful not to over-medicate in response to a migraine. Absorption of oral medications is often slowed or stopped during a migraine, but noncaffeinated carbonated beverages may improve absorption.
