Migraine is a neurological condition that occurs in about 1 in 10 children and even more adults. It presents in symptoms such as  headache, abdominal pain, nausea or light sensitivity.  Additionally, it impacts a person’s daily life, social and emotional wellbeing. That’s why current professional standards recommend a multidisciplinary treatment approach. 

Unfortunately, yes. About 1 in 10 school-aged children have migraines. Often it is undiscovered because migraine presents differently in children than it does in adults. For children, the main symptoms often include stomach pain and nausea. If you are worried about your child’s symptoms, it is best to see your GP or a specialist.

Specialists recommend to keep a migraine or headache diary because it helps to:

1. Spot patterns and potential triggers
2. Doctors to assess which strategies help
3. Support the right diagnosis & treatment plan
4. Your child to gain a sense of control 

For more information, check out our blog about migraine diaries. 

Psychological therapies (e.g. relaxation, hypnosis, coping skills training, biofeedback, and cognitive behavioural therapy) may help young people manage pain and its disabling consequences. Especially cognitive behavioural therapy may reduce pain frequency in children with migraine.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, also called CBT, is a talking therapy. CBT teaches you how emotions, thoughts, behaviours, and physical sensations are interlinked. CBT is proven to be an effective way to prevent migraine in children.

There are a lot of different symptoms associated with migraine and it varies for every person. 

For children, common symptoms are:

• nausea
• abdominal pain
• vomiting 
• and head pain.

Multidisciplinary migraine management follows the bio-psycho-social model of chronic pain management. This means that we are looking not only at physical symptoms but also the impact migraine has on our social and emotional wellbeing.

The approach includes (but not limited to): 
– Pharmaceuticals (acute, and if necessary, preventative)

– Lifestyle adaptations (diet, exercise, stress, sleep)

– Behavioral & coping techniques (Cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation, progressive muscle relaxation)  

Recommend volumes of water to drink and stay hydrated vary person to person. As a general rule of thumb, drinking around 2 litres of water (split up into smaller glasses, of course!) a day is about optimal. Always listen to your body – if you feel thirsty, have a drink!

Blog about hydration & migraine

Whilst most migraine attacks are associated with headaches, migraines can be experienced in other areas of the body. Abdominal migraines, for example, involve stomach aches that tend to last between 1 and 72 hours.

Young children are most likely to suffer from abdominal migraines, with most individuals expected to experience their first episode between the ages of 3 and 10 years old. As they get older, most of these children will go on to experience the headaches often associated with migraine. 

Art therapy is a type of psychotherapy which uses art to help treat conditions including migraine. It is carried out with art therapists and involves expressing your feelings and emotions through creative activities like painting. Like breathing exercises and yoga, it helps you to take control of your mood and may alleviate the perception of pain.

Barometric pressure headaches are a type of headache caused by environmental changes. These changes are usually changes in the atmosphere making weather a key trigger of this kind of condition.

Photophobia is an increased sensitivity to light which makes bright and/or flashing lights uncomfortable – even painful – to look at. It is associated with conditions affecting the brain and the eyes, and is a very common symptom of migraine attacks.

CBD Oil is an extract from the Cannabis Satvia plant which is believed to have pain relieving properties.

Yes, CBD Oil is legal! It does not contain the psychoactive compounds responsible for the hallucinatory effects of cannabis. CBD oil does have to abide by certain regulations, however, and so it is important to obtain it from a reliable source like pharmacies.

Diuretics are substances that increase the amount of water and salt in the body. In other words, they increase the production of urine. This can lead to dehydration, a well-noted trigger of migraine attacks.