Child's Migraine

What are migraines?

A migraine is a severe headache, usually on one side of the head, that may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light. A migraine can last from several hours to several days. It can be so severe that it interferes with daily life. According to research, migraine is the 6th most disabling disease in the world.

There are over 150 types of headaches that can be divided into two categories: primary and secondary. Migraine is a primary headache. This means that migraine is an independent disease and is not associated with other pathologies. Secondary headache is a symptom of another medical condition.

How often do migraines happen?

Migraine headaches can occur from once a year to once a week. Most often, migraines occur two to four times a month.

Risk factors

Migraine can affect both adults and children and adolescents. Women are more prone to migraines than men. Having migraines in other family members is the most common risk factor.

Family history. If your first-degree relative suffers from migraines, then you have a fairly high chance of developing this type of headache compared to those who do not have migraine in the family.

Sex. Women are three times more likely to suffer from migraines than men. This is due to the influence of hormones.

Age. Migraines can occur at any age, but most often they start during adolescence.

Migraine causes

Scientists believe genetics plays an important role in the onset of migraines. This means that migraines can be inherited. Apart from genetic factors, migraines can also be caused by a number of other reasons. Different people may have different triggers that trigger migraines. Some of them are presented below.

Migraine triggers:

• Stress
• Phases of the menstrual cycle
• Certain foods or drinks (alcohol, caffeine, aged cheeses)
• smoking
• bright light
• loud sounds
• too much or not enough sleep
• intense exercise
• change of weather or barometric pressure
• medications
• skipping meals, fasting

Triggers work like a switch, triggering a process in the brain that can result in headaches and other migraine symptoms.

To reduce the number of migraine attacks, you need to study your own headache triggers. This can be done by keeping a symptom diary. Write down what you were doing before the migraine attack began. How long did you sleep, what you ate and drank, was there any stress?

Migraine phases

A migraine attack can have four stages: prodrome, aura, attack, and postdrome. However, migraines may appear differently for different people and will not necessarily go through all 4 stages.

Prodrom

The prodromal period begins several hours, and sometimes days, before the migraine attack. You may notice some signs, such as mood swings, increased food cravings, increased urination, and frequent yawning.

Aura

Aura appears in about 1 in 4 people with migraines. It can occur just before or during a headache. Symptoms usually start gradually and last from a few minutes to an hour.

Aura is a temporary neurological symptom that resolves after an attack. Usually, the aura manifests itself as visual phenomena, such as flashes of light, bright spots, or lines in front of the eyes. In addition, the aura can be felt as numbness, tingling of the skin (often in the face and hands), problems with expression thoughts, problems with concentration.

Attack

The migraine attack lasts from 4 to 72 hours. The pain usually increases gradually and has a pulsating character. Most often, pain is localized on one side of the head, but it can also be on both sides.

In addition to the headache, migraines can include other symptoms:

• increased sensitivity to light, sounds and smells
• nausea, vomiting
• weakness, dizziness

Sometimes, with a migraine, the headache may be absent, but the attack is accompanied by other symptoms.

Postdrom

During the last phase of a migraine, you may feel very tired, sluggish and distracted. The headache may come on again briefly due to sudden movements of the head.

Migraine diagnostics

In order to diagnose migraine, the doctor carefully examines all symptoms, family history and conducts the necessary research to rule out other possible causes of the headache. Tests may include blood tests, MRI or CT scans, and other tests.

Migraine treatment

Migraines cannot be cured, but medications can help reduce pain. You can also learn to identify the symptoms of a future migraine headache which can help reduce the number of seizures.

Genetics

Migraines run in families. Approximately 4 out of 5 people with migraines have a close relative with migraines. If one of the parents suffers from migraines, the child will also have seizures in 50% of cases. If both parents have migraines, then the child's chance of developing migraines increases to 75%.

Scientists have not yet identified which genes affect the development of migraines. It can be a collection of different genes together with the influence of the environment.