Migraines in children are very common such that about 10 percent of school age kids experience a bad headache. A migraine, also considered as a neurological disorder is a head pain accompanied by symptoms like dizziness, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light as well as sound, odors and touch.
Onset of Children Migraines
Half of children migraine sufferers experience their first attack before reaching the age of 12. There have been instances when infants or children as young as 18 months have suffered a migraine. Boys who have not reached their puberty age are said to have suffered from a migraine more frequently than girls. The onset of migraines in boys are usually at the age of 7 while girls start to have migraines at the age of 11. Children approaching their adolescent age experience more migraines and girls experience migraines more rapidly than in boys at this age. By the time either a boy or girl reaches the age of 17, as many as 8 percent of boys and 23 percent that of girls have already had a migraine.
Symptoms of Migraines in Children
A child with migraine can experience mood changes and abdominal pain. Migraines in children are described to be shorter than those suffered by adults but can just be as painful as adult migraines. They can also affect kid’s quality of life so the young individual together with his or her parent should consult a doctor when acute migraine attacks.
Children, more particularly teenagers and adolescents, can suffer from a daily chronic migraine headache equivalent to having 15 or more headaches lasting for more than four hours in a time period of more than 3 months.
Migraine headaches in children may be less severe than other migraine symptoms such as nausea, dizziness and abdominal pain. Children can also experience migraine together with a visual irregularity such as flashing lights, colored spots and a blurry vision.
Triggers for migraines in children are lack of sleep, weather changes, loud noises, hormonal changes, bright lights and a strong odor. Food triggers only affect a few. If both parents of the child regularly suffer migraines then it is most likely that their child can suffer a migraine as well.