How Migraines Affect Children
Children can be some of the most challenging medical cases to diagnose and treat; primarily because younger patients often have a hard time expressing clear and concise information to medical professionals or even parents. One of the more disheartening and frightening conditions in children are migraines as they can be indicators of larger problems or random in nature. This is why migraines in children need to be thoroughly assessed and continually monitored so that the root cause of the problem can be determined. Once that has occurred, a treatment plan can be devised to help children get through times when a migraine comes about or a flare up happens whcih causes pain for the child.
Children that present symptoms of a migraine will typically complain of a headache but then also have migraine related issues such as sensitivity to light and sound, a feeling or sensation of being unable to open their eyes completely, nausea and vomiting, vision issues such as seeing white dots or pinpoints of light or even perhaps an overall feeling of being unsteady on their feet. These can be hard symptoms to describe in words for children and thus parents need to monitor and pay close attention when a child complains excessively of a headache as it may be considered a migraine.
Some of the reasons behind migraines in children can be as minor as vision issues that can be corrected, dental disease that is causing pain that then triggers the migraine, allergies that manifest in to migraines or even stress. However, migraines in children can also be an indicator of a larger problem or one that is developing. This could signify things such as a head injury that parents were not made aware of such as a fall on a playground or a car accident from the recent past, a tumor or cyst in the brain that is causing pressure which then turns in to migraines or other issues such as those related to medication. The various reasons for migraines are vast and varied which is why once the child's primary care physician has been informed of the issue, a trip to a neurologist is in order to help further determine the reasons behind the migraines.
Migraines tend to come about at random or there may be some warning signs. One way parents can best help their children when they suffer from migraines is to keep good notes and records of issues before a migraine hits, the symptoms associated with the migraine and anything else that can be relevant in the diagnosis of the issue.
