PITTSBURGH -- Migraines are not a problem we commonly think of as something that can affect our children. But millions of kids suffer these debilitating headaches, which can come in very strange forms…from abdominal pain to just crankiness.

Zach is much like any 8 year old. He enjoys playing catch, shooting hoops and riding his bike. But when his vicious, debilitating migraines attack, they bring his active life to a screeching halt. “They pretty much hurt in the middle and the top of my head and it felt like sore,” says Zach.

Another Zach…Zach Watson has been a migraine sufferer since age 4. Betsy Watson is Zach’s mom. “He would crawl into a fetal position and try to pull his hair out and throw up and had sensitivity to light, classic migraine symptoms, says Betsy.”

Her son has tried everything from Botox injections to medications to get relief. According to the International Headache Society, around eight percent of children have migraines. Now, the Society has changed its guidelines for diagnosing child migraines.

Overall, they recognize child migraines may not be as intense, or last as long as adult migraines…but are migraines nonetheless that need to be treated. “They revised classification to a headache that’s at least one hour in duration being a childhood migraine, where an adult headache, can be 4 hours in duration,” reports pediatric neurologist, Dr. Frank Berenson.

Five-year old Ethan also battles migraines. Dr. Frank Berenson says that it can be challenging to diagnose migraines in children, because of their inability to effectively describe their pain…often, they’re misdiagnosed with sinus infections or eye strain headaches. “You’ll see a kid who is irritable and throws up and that might be his migraine accompaniment.”

It’s bright sunny days that can affect children with migraines. Classically migraine patients don’t like bright lights or sound. Now, the new guidelines recognize that if a child responds with behavior such as crankiness, it’s the same as saying the bright light is bothering him or her.

Childhood migraines typically occur in the front of the head. It’s a pressure type pain as opposed to throbbing pain experienced with adult migraines.

Also added to the guidelines was what’s called an abdominal migraine, where the child can get midline abdominal pain, which is often accompanied by severe nausea and vomiting.

The good news is there’s treatment. First, avoiding classic triggers found in kids such as sleep deprivation and poor diet. According to Dr. Berenson, triggers can include caffeinated beverages, preserved foods, hot dogs and chocolate.”

In many cases childhood migraines are highly treatable. Medicines can help relieve the discomfort. But there are extreme cases which fail to respond to standard therapy. Botox has become a last resort option for these types of children and it appears to be helping many.

Thanks to aggressive treatment Zach Watson’s migraines have become more manageable.

Visit these links for more information on migraines.

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