Pediatricians have found out that children suffer from different types of headaches that include migraines, The Buffalo News reported.
Many characteristics of childhood migraines are different from the characteristics of adult migraines. The duration of childhood migraines is shorter than the duration of an adult migraine. While children do not experience visual auras like adults, they may experience a behavioral change with loss of appetite, irritability, malaise and pallor.
Children who develop migraines also tend to have sleep disorders. They may experience vomiting, abdominal pain, sweating, blurred vision and chills. Such children appear pale, uncomfortable and sick and have dark circles around their eyes.
Lack of sleep and stress may also trigger childhood migraines. Children with migraines do not want to play video games or view TV during their headaches. They do not talk much and may not show interest in eating. Children will tell their parents that their headaches become worse when they do physical activity such as carrying a backup or going up and down stairs. They go to bed in a dark room.
Pediatrician Dr. Sue Hubbard said, "To meet the diagnostic criteria for childhood migraine, a child needs to have at least five of these "attacks." A headache log is helpful, as these headaches may occur randomly and it is difficult to remember what the headache was like or how long it lasted without keeping a log."
The Migraine Research Foundation reported that about 10 percent of school-age children suffer from migraines, according to . Even infants as young as 18 months can suffer from migraines. Before puberty, migraines affect boys more often than girls. However, with the onset of adolescence, migraine prevalence increases more rapidly in girls than in boys.