Parents often think that children just want to skip school when they say they have a pounding headache. That may be true for some, but for other kids, they are in fact experiencing the onslaught of a migraine. So what are the telltale signs in children?
Headaches
The main indicator of migraine is an excruciating headache. There is a throbbing or pulsating ache in your head as if a drum is being whacked.
Worse, it can be exacerbated by movement, like walking. The pain is usually on one side of the head (unilateral), though pain on both sides (bilateral) may also occur. The headache may last from a few hours to as much as two days. Sometimes, the ache only dissipates after a good slumber.
An aura is a warning sign or indicator about the impending migraine. Auras may vary from child to child. Some examples of which include the following:
- Shadows and flashing lights in their vision
- Feelings of pins and needles
- Craving for specific foods
- Partial paralysis or muscle weakness on one side of the body (hemiparesis)
- Language impairment (aphasia)
- Numbness and tingling sensation on both sides of the head (bilateral paresthesias)
Others
A whole range of manifestations may make itself known to the child migraineur (migraine sufferer). Below are other symptoms your kids may exhibit in their bout with migraine:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sensitivity to light (photophobia)
- Sensitivity to sound (phonophobia)
- Sensitivity to odours (osmophobia)
- Slow speech
- Vertigo
- Diminished hearing
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Diminished awareness or consciousness
- Double vision (dilopia)
- Inability to co-ordinate voluntary muscular movement (ataxia)
It isn’t easy to pin down a headache to migraine. However, physicians will normally check on the following to verify if your child:
- Experienced a minimum of 5 migraine attacks (without aura) or 2 migraine attacks with aura
- Had migraine episodes which lasted from 1 to 3 days
- Has other illness or condition that may be contributing to the headache
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