The term child migraine itself sounds incongruous since migraines are not a problem we commonly think of as something that can affect our children. But child migraines are not such an unusual problem. Millions of kids suffer these debilitating headaches, which can come in very strange forms, from abdominal pain to just crankiness.

The term child migraine itself sounds incongruous since migraines are not a problem we commonly think of as something that can affect our children. But child migraines are not such an unusual problem. Millions of kids suffer these debilitating headaches, which can come in very strange forms, from abdominal pain to just crankiness.

Zach is much like any 8 year old. He enjoys playing catch, shooting hoops and riding his bike. But when his vicious, debilitating migraines attack, they bring his active life to a screeching halt. “They hurt terribly in the middle and the top of my head,” says Zach.
Another Zach, Zach Watson, has been a migraine sufferer since age 4.
Betsy Watson is Zach’s mom. “He would crawl into a fetal position and try to pull his hair out and throw up. He was extremely sensitive to light, which is a classic migraine symptom,” says Betsy.

Her son has tried everything from Botox injections to medications to get relief. According to the International Headache Society, around eight percent of children have migraines. Now, the Society has changed its guidelines for diagnosing child migraines.
Overall, they recognize child migraines may not be as intense, or last as long as adult migraines, but are migraines nonetheless that need to be treated. “They revised classification to a headache that’s at least one hour in duration being a child migraine, where an adult headache, can be 4 hours in duration,” reports pediatric neurologist, Dr. Frank Berenson.

Five-year old Ethan also battles child migraines. Dr. Frank Berenson says that it can be challenging to diagnose child migraines, because of children’s inability to effectively describe their pain. Often, child migraines are often misdiagnosed as sinus infections or eye strain headaches. “You’ll see a kid who is irritable and throws up and that might be his migraine accompaniment.”

Bright sunny days can affect children with migraines. Classically migraine patients don’t like bright lights or sound. Now, the new guidelines recognize that if a child responds with behavior such as crankiness, it’s the same as saying the bright light is bothering him or her. Childhood migraines typically occur in the front of the head. It’s a pressure type pain as opposed to throbbing pain experienced with adult migraines.

Also added to the guidelines for diagnosing child migraine, was what’s called an abdominal migraine, where the child can get midline abdominal pain, which is often accompanied by severe nausea and vomiting. The good news is there’s treatment for child migraine. The first important step is to avoid classic triggers found in kids such as sleep deprivation and poor diet. According to Dr. Berenson, triggers can include caffeinated beverages, preserved foods, hot dogs and chocolate.

In many cases childhood migraines are highly treatable. Medicines can help relieve the discomfort of child migraines. But there are extreme cases of child migraine which fail to respond to standard therapy. Botox has become a last resort option for these types of children, in New York and other cities, and it appears to be helping many. Thanks to aggressive treatment Zach Watson’s migraines have become more manageable.

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