Migraine headaches are not normal headaches. Children as well as adults can suffer from these intense, debilitating headaches. The symptoms and frequency can change with age, but many of their symptoms and what triggers them are similar to adult migraines. As with migraines in adults, their symptoms and triggers can vary.
Pain similar to adults
Many symptoms are similar to those in adults. Children feel intense, throbbing pain that is sometimes centered around the eyes or forehead. Younger children tend to show this pain through sleepiness or crankiness.
Other similar symptoms
The secondary symptoms are similar for children as well: nausea, vomiting, dizziness and visual or sensory disturbances known as aura (tunnel vision, flashing lights). Just like adults, not every child experiences all of these secondary symptoms.
Triggers
As with adults, migraine headaches are often set off by certain triggers in a child. These triggers include lack of sleep, certain foods and caffeine withdrawal. Stressful situations, strong odors, physical exertion, motion sickness, fever and weather changes can trigger them as well.
Unique to children
The pain phase of children's migraines is typically shorter than adults'. It lasts 30 minutes to 48 hours compared to the up to 72 hours for adults. Children also are more likely to end a headache with deep sleep.
Symptoms change with age
As children grow, their migraines change, often increasing in intensity and frequency. For some kids, the migraines stop a few years after puberty, and for others, they grow worse as they enter adulthood. As they get older, the pain tends to mimic adults' migraines more by moving to one side or both sides of the head.
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