Migraine in 4 Year Old- Can a Child Have Migraines?

Contents

Basic Understanding of a child migraine

As many as 15% of the population suffers from migraine headaches at least once. It is one of the most common complaints seen in emergency rooms and doctors offices. The frequency of these headaches can be anywhere from one headache a year to one every single day. Women outnumber men in occurrences by more than 3 to 1. These sessions of acute pain, nausea, vision disturbances and sensitivity to light and sound can last up to four hours, or for as long as 72 hours in some severe cases.

Nothing is worse than seeing your child in pain, and it is often the case that a child doesn’t know how to express what is really wrong. It is hard for a parent to tell what a child means when they say that their head hurts, if it is just a headache, or if it is a child migraine. It is important that you know the difference because both headaches and child migraines are caused by different things, and both of them have different repercussions.

What is Different?

When a child complains that their head hurts, they might either be suffering from a headache or a child migraine. If they are having a headache, it is only going to be their head that hurts. You can ask them about other symptoms, but all they will be able to tell you is that their head hurts. So you know that it is probably not a child migraine. This is a good thing because a headache in children can be caused by many things, not having the correct glasses, watching too much television, having a fever etc. Usually, you can find the source of a headache in children quite easily.

However, a child migraine is a different story. If your child doesn’t want to be in the light, or if they don’t want to be around things that make noises, they might be suffering from a child migraine. If this is the case, they might throw up or get sick in another way. They might want to stay in the dark and cry if there are loud noises. If your child has these symptoms along with a headache, and it lasts for a long period of time, they are probably suffering from a child migraine.

Migraine Symptoms

The symptoms of a migraine can vary considerably from person to person. Some of the common symptoms include a visual disturbance that can precede a headache itself. These vision changes can include a blind spot in one eye or a consistent flashing or color in a particular area of your vision. Other warning signs that a migraine is coming can be an intense feeling of euphoria, irritation or depression, or the detection of a funny taste or odor. Once the pain sets in, it can be accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.

How to Help Your Child

There are many things that can be done to help your child if they are having a child migraine. You should give them Tylenol or other drugs that are meant for children, but you should never give them aspirin. You should give them drugs meant to help a child with pain. If a child has a child migraine more than once, you need to take your child to see the doctor, because this could be something serious and should be checked out. If your child is having headaches often, you should get their hearing and sight checked, because problems with both of these are some of the things that might lead to headaches and also to a child migraine.

Can a Child Have Migraines? Last Update: 19/5/2017

One thought on “Migraine in 4 Year Old- Can a Child Have Migraines?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.