Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesSymptomsRisk FactorsDiagnosisTreatmentPreventionFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
Symptoms
Risk Factors
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prevention
Frequently Asked Questions
Pediatricmigrainesaffect roughly 10% of children and can begin as early as the infant stage in severe cases. Older children can also get migraines, and up to 28% of teens get migraines.
Despite the prevalence of pediatric migraines, the symptoms can be hard to spot, particularly in younger children. Therefore, the diagnosis can easily be missed.
The symptoms of pediatric migraines are different from thesymptoms of migrainesin adults. If your child is experiencing severe head pain, along with nausea and/or vomiting, they may be having a migraine.
Verywell / Danie Drankwalter
It’s important that caregivers learn to recognize pediatric migraine symptoms because kids can have a difficult time describing the pain that they are experiencing.
Here’s what you know about the causes of pediatric migraine symptoms and treatment methods.
How Chronic Migraines Affect Family Life
What Triggers Migraines in Kids?
Pediatric migraines occur because of pain pathways in the brain that are overly responsive. In people who get migraines, these pain sensors can be activated too easily, which triggers an inflammatory response and causes blood vessels in the brain to become inflamed.
The exact causes of this neuroinflammation are not yet known, but there appears to be a strong genetic component. Kids who have parents with migraines have a much higher risk of pediatric migraines.
Keeping a journal to track your child’s migraine days can help you identify their triggers and find strategies to avoid them.
Migraines and Headaches in Teens
Pediatric Migraine Symptoms
Pediatric migraines look different. Children with migraines may or may not say that they have a headache. Unlike in adults, a child’s headache will usually occur on both sides, not just one.
In very young children, behavioral changes andgastrointestinal symptomsare often the most noticeable indicators of pediatric migraine.
Other symptoms of pediatric migraine include:
Children can also suffer from migraine equivalents. These are conditions that occur without a headache, but that are still part of a migraine syndrome. Children who have migraine equivalents are likely to have migraines in the future.
Migraine equivalents in children and babies can include:
If your child has a migraine equivalent, you should speak with theirpediatrician, especially if you have a family history of migraines.
Migraine Treatments: Everything You Need to Know
Risk Factors for Pediatric Migraines
The strongest risk factor for pediatric migraine is having a biological parent who experiences migraines.
Among kids who get migraines, 90% have at least one parent with the condition. If you have migraines as an adult, there is a 50% chance that your child will have pediatric migraines. That increases to a 90% chance if both of a child’s biological parents get migraines.
The other risk factors for pediatric migraines include:
Lifestyle and environmental risk factors include:
How Are Pediatric Migraines Diagnosed?
To diagnose pediatric migraines, the healthcare provider will talk to you about your child’s symptoms. Your healthcare provider may order tests to rule out other conditions (such as an MRI of the brain to look at its structure), but there is no test to definitively diagnose pediatric migraines.
Since pediatric migraines are often an overlooked condition, it can be helpful to find a healthcare provider who has experience treating them.
Ways to Treat Pediatric Migraines
Treatment plans for pediatric migraines depend on how often the migraines change a child’s behavior and cause them to miss out on daily activities.
The possible medical treatments for migraines include:
How to Manage and Prevent Your Child’s Migraines
Pediatric Migraine Prevention
Making changes in your day-to-day life will be among the most important components of helping your child manage and prevent migraines.
Examples of lifestyle changes that you can work on with your child include:
How to Prevent Migraines
Summary
Pediatric migraines occur in kids and teens but may start as early as infancy. A child who has one or more biological parents who get migraines is more likely to get migraines.
Pediatric migraines look different from migraines in adults. For example, kids often have predominant gastrointestinal symptoms and might not say that they have a headache.
Talk to your child’s pediatrician or a healthcare provider if your child has symptoms of migraine. As with migraines in adults, migraines in children can be managed with medications and lifestyle changes, which include identifying and avoiding migraine triggers.
What to Know About Migraine Triggers
Frequently Asked QuestionsPediatric migraine symptoms can last for up to six hours. After having a migraine, a child might feel tired for a few days.The American Academy of Pediatrics has aquizthat can help you assess whether your child’s migraine symptoms are mild, moderate, or severe. In general, pediatric migraines are consideredchronicif they occur more than twice a week.If you’re worried about your child’s migraines or any other aspects of their health and well-being, do not hesitate to bring these concerns up with your child’s healthcare provider.When your child is having a migraine, help them find a dark, quiet space to rest, and also provide comfort. Your child’s healthcare provider might recommend OTC pain medications or certain prescription migraine medications to help with symptoms.
Pediatric migraine symptoms can last for up to six hours. After having a migraine, a child might feel tired for a few days.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has aquizthat can help you assess whether your child’s migraine symptoms are mild, moderate, or severe. In general, pediatric migraines are consideredchronicif they occur more than twice a week.If you’re worried about your child’s migraines or any other aspects of their health and well-being, do not hesitate to bring these concerns up with your child’s healthcare provider.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has aquizthat can help you assess whether your child’s migraine symptoms are mild, moderate, or severe. In general, pediatric migraines are consideredchronicif they occur more than twice a week.
If you’re worried about your child’s migraines or any other aspects of their health and well-being, do not hesitate to bring these concerns up with your child’s healthcare provider.
When your child is having a migraine, help them find a dark, quiet space to rest, and also provide comfort. Your child’s healthcare provider might recommend OTC pain medications or certain prescription migraine medications to help with symptoms.
Pediatric Headache Red Flags and When to Seek Treatment
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Academy of Pediatrics.Migraine headaches in children & teens: parent FAQs.American Migraine Foundation.Understanding pediatric migraine.American Migraine Foundation.Treatment of migraine in children.Tarantino S, Capuano A, Torriero R, et al.Migraine equivalents as part of migraine syndrome in childhood.Pediatr Neurol.2014;51(5):645-649. doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2014.07.018
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Academy of Pediatrics.Migraine headaches in children & teens: parent FAQs.American Migraine Foundation.Understanding pediatric migraine.American Migraine Foundation.Treatment of migraine in children.Tarantino S, Capuano A, Torriero R, et al.Migraine equivalents as part of migraine syndrome in childhood.Pediatr Neurol.2014;51(5):645-649. doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2014.07.018
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Academy of Pediatrics.Migraine headaches in children & teens: parent FAQs.American Migraine Foundation.Understanding pediatric migraine.American Migraine Foundation.Treatment of migraine in children.Tarantino S, Capuano A, Torriero R, et al.Migraine equivalents as part of migraine syndrome in childhood.Pediatr Neurol.2014;51(5):645-649. doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2014.07.018
American Academy of Pediatrics.Migraine headaches in children & teens: parent FAQs.
American Migraine Foundation.Understanding pediatric migraine.
American Migraine Foundation.Treatment of migraine in children.
Tarantino S, Capuano A, Torriero R, et al.Migraine equivalents as part of migraine syndrome in childhood.Pediatr Neurol.2014;51(5):645-649. doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2014.07.018
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