It is a common misconception that young kids don’t get migraines. In fact, about 10% of school-age kids and 15-27% of adolescents get migraines. Locally, the number of adolescents with migraines is even higher.
What can also be confusing is that headaches can occur on their own, but they can also be a symptom of the neurological disease, migraine. Migraine is hereditary and kids have a 50-75% chance of developing it if one or both parents have it.
I would like to clarify some misconceptions about migraines so that this knowledge may help some children and adolescents get treatment sooner.
MYTH: Migraines are just really bad headaches
Many people think of migraines as just really bad headaches. However, migraines are a potentially disabling neurological disease. Headaches are just one symptom of that disease. Headaches, when they’re a symptom of migraine, can be mild or severe. Daily or once a month. And migraines often include other symptoms besides headaches (see next point).
MYTH: The main symptom of migraines is pain on one side of the head
It is true that migraine headaches can manifest as pain on one side of the head. But for kids, they often feel pain on both sides or in the front. Migraine pain can also feel like tension or sinus headaches. Further, head pain is not the only symptom of migraine. In fact, kids can have migraines without any head pain at all! Other symptoms of migraines are nausea; sensitivity to light, smells and sounds; vision changes; dizziness and fatigue. This is because migraines affect the blood vessels around the brain and surrounding tissues, causing inflammation.
MYTH: Young kids can’t tell you what hurts
Thankfully, this is not true; we DO have ways for little kids to describe their pain. By the time kids are two or three years old, they can relay their symptoms by drawing them. Kids will draw themselves throwing up, covering their eyes from the light or ears from loud noises.
MYTH: Young kids and toddlers don’t get migraines
It’s hard to imagine, but kids as young as 18 months can get migraines. If infants throw up a lot or have frequent colic with no other cause, migraine could be the reason. This is a barrier to treatment because no one thinks of kids getting migraines this young.
MYTH: All headaches are “harmless”
It is true that while migraines can cause a lot of pain, vomiting, and light sensitivity, these symptoms do not cause long-term problems. However, there are red flag symptoms that parents should watch for. This includes headaches waking them up consistently from sleep, confusion, numbness, weakness, fever and stiff neck. These symptoms, along with headaches, could be a sign of something more serious.
MYTH: Symptoms of migraines are the same for boys and girls
This is not true. For girls, migraine symptoms typically start around age eight or nine when the hormones start changing. They usually get worse in the teenage years and often do not subside until menopause.
Boys often start at a much younger age, some before the age of 5. For the most part, they don’t get worse during the teenage years like they do for girls. About half of boys outgrow migraines in their twenties.
MYTH: Medicine is the only way to treat migraines
It is true that medications, both over the counter and prescription, can treat migraine headaches. But they are not the ONLY way to treat migraines.
Some kids’ migraines don’t respond well to medications. Or sometimes kids get rebound headaches from taking too much medicine, and they must stop taking it altogether. In this case, we may have them try one of the newly FDA-approved devices for children and adolescents. An example is Nerivio, a remote electrical neuromodulator. Kids eight years and older can use it as an acute and preventive therapy. It delivers signals to nerve fibers in the arm that help manage how the wearer responds to pain. In other words, it tricks the brain to focus on something else.
One of the most highly effective non-medication treatments for headaches is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT teaches kids the skills to recognize triggers and how to control them. It also helps them manage their stress, which is one of the most frequent migraine triggers.
If your kids are having headaches more than once a week, more often than normal, or they’re getting in the way of their social lives, talk to your doctor about them. The sooner they begin treatment, the better outcome they will have.
For more information about our Headache Center please call 513-636-4222 or email headache@cchmc.org.
#Misconceptions #Migraines #Children #Adolescents
