Your child may have migraines if he or she experiences recurrent headaches with symptom free gaps between them and has some or all of the following symptoms:Throbbing head pain, often on one side of the head
Nausea or vomiting
Abdominal pain
A visual or sensory sensation, such as blurring or flashes of light or numbness of the hands and feet
Relief of headache following sleep
A family medical history of migraine
If your child has symptoms suggestive of migraine, your pediatrician will recommend a treatment plan.
Migraine Management:
Most migraine attacks in children aren't severe and can be managed at home. Talk with your pediatrician about the best methods to avoid triggers and treat migraines. Attacks may be triggered by hormonal changes, certain foods, stress, and other factors.
Keeping a headache diary can help a child identify and avoid migraine triggers. A typical headache diary will include notations of the date, time, duration, location, and severity of the headache, as well as environmental factors such as foods eaten before the onset of headache, stressful situations, and other possible triggers.
At the first sign of an attack, your child should rest in a quiet, darkened room. Over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen are often effective for mild migraine headaches. In many cases children with migraines have fewer, less severe headaches once they've been examined by their pediatrician and reassured that they don't have a serious health problem.
Additional Information on HealthyChildren.org: