Migraine Relief for Children

According to a study cited in the American Academy of Family Physicians online journal, about 10 percent of children get migraines; that figure jumps to 23 percent by the time a child reaches adolescence. If a child you love suffers migraine headaches, finding relief is crucial.

Rest

• The first line of defense should be rest. Place a child complaining of a migraine in a dark, quiet room with a cool cloth over his forehead. Encourage napping or going to bed early, as sleep can often alleviate a child's migraine. If you do use other treatments, allow your child rest while he waits for those treatments to kick in.

Avoiding Triggers

• Keeping a child on a regular sleep and eating schedule can reduce the likelihood of migraines, as both lack of sleep and missed meals are common triggers. To identify other triggers, keep a headache diary to track your child's migraines. Include information about the onset and severity of pain, other symptoms, and factors that may have affected the migraine, such as certain foods eaten or a stressful experience. Do not remove specific foods from your child's diet unless you feel fairly certain the food is triggering migraines. Limit your child's caffeine intake: both caffeine itself and caffeine withdrawal can cause migraines.

Over-the-counter Medications

• Many over-the-counter painkillers, such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, are available in dosages formulated for children, although a higher dosage may be required for migraines. A child who suffers from migraines should have access to effective painkillers both at home and at school and should take them at the first sign of migraine pain. The American Academy of Family Physicians cites 90 percent of children reporting vomiting as the most troublesome symptom of migraines, so you may need to administer anti-emetics before giving painkillers. In many cases, the anti-emetic alone is enough to relieve all migraine symptoms. If your child uses painkillers daily, consider taking another pain relief approach. Overuse of analgesics can cause "rebound headaches"---or headaches that result from no pain medication being in the child's system.

Behavioral Therapies

• If stress or depression play into a child's migraines, behavioral therapy may reduce attacks. In addition, an initial study originally published in Neurology found biofeedback to be effective in relieving the prevalence and severity of children's migraines. For biofeedback to work, children must learn to regulate involuntary bodily processes, such as temperature and blood flow. Although kids will need training before using biofeedback, it has the advantages of being both drug-free and always available.

Prescription Medications

• Children who suffer chronic migraines---migraines that occur more than 15 times in one month---may benefit from preventative medications. Unfortunately, few studies of preventative medication's use on children have been done, and most evidence is anecdotal. Cyproheptadine is usually the first drug tried on children, and beta blockers such as propranolol or antidepressants such as amitriptyline may be used if that doesn't work. Although common migraine drugs such as Imitrex have not been approved for use on children, small dosages may be considered if a child's migraine pain does not respond to over-the-counter treatments.