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Migraine Headache Treatment for Children
Recurrent headaches in children may be a sign of something very serious. If your child has frequent or severe headaches, that is cause enough to take him to a doctor.
You will want your child to have the most suitable migraine headache treatment so be prepared when you visit the doctor with details of your family’s medical history and be able to give all the details concerning your child’s headache.
If the child is old enough to answer, the doctor will probably want to specifically question your child. Don’t be surprised or offended if the doctor wishes to question the child alone, he just wants to hear the child describe the symptoms.
It’s quite possible the doctor will instruct or request that you begin keeping a headache journal, which is simply a diary in which you keep track of such things as:
v how often your child has the headaches
v how bad the headaches are
v how long the headaches last
v what medications were given and whether or not they helped
v anything that makes the headaches begin, get worse, or get better.
Prescribing the correct Migraine Headache Treatment
The doctor will focus on prescribing the correct migraine headache treatment therefore he may want to carry out a complete physical examination once important information about the headaches has been gathered. After the examination is completed, it is not uncommon for the doctor to conduct blood tests, cranial computed tomography, or a magnetic resonance imaging study.
For migraine and tension-type headaches, treatment might begin with nothing more complicated than improving sleep and nutritional habits. He may well recommend that suspected triggers are avoided. For many kids, simple changes in lifestyle often produce a huge difference in how often they suffer from headaches, how long the headaches last and how bad the pain is.
Acetaminophen as Migraine Headache Treatment
If a drug treatment is prescribed, doctors often first recommend acetaminophen for headaches in children. If the pain doesn’t stop with this treatment, let the doctor know immediately and make sure you never give more medicine to a child than is recommended. Even though acetaminophen is available without a prescription, it can still be dangerous for a child if too much is given.
In addition, there are other medications that the doctor may prescribe. The more information about your child’s condition that you can provide to the physician, the easier it will be for him to find the best medication for your child. Even with the best information, be prepared to undergo several trials before determining the most effective medication, because each child reacts differently to medication. The medication may also be prescribed for the child's nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, if these symptoms are present.
Preventive Migraine Headache Treatments
Preventive treatments may be prescribed by a doctor if the child's headaches are severe or if they occur with great frequency. Frequently, kids and teenagers who have very bad headaches, as well as their parents, make the decision not to use preventive treatments because they don’t want to have to take medicine every single day. The choice in this matter must be made by each child and their parents based on how difficult it may be for the child to cope with the headaches and how well medications work if taken after the headaches start.
Just be aware that there are many preventive medications that can be tried. Some non-drug treatments, like biofeedback and relaxation therapies, can be helpful, particularly for older children. These techniques must be learned by the child who will then practice and use them to cope with headache pain when it begins. If the techniques are practiced every day, they sometimes help prevent headaches from starting.
Biofeedback machines measure electrical impulses or heat from the child's skin and show these measurements on a TV screen, a flashing light bulb, or a beeper. The feedback from their own bodies can help the child to practice relaxation and make internal adjustments that help relieve the headache pain.
Stress and anxiety play a very important part in many childhood headaches and therefore, it might be helpful for some children to see a mental health specialist, like a psychologist. Severe headaches can be very traumatic for a young child. Mental health specialists are very experienced in treating children and can help your child with the relaxation techniques described above, and also help them deal with the stress and anxiety they are feeling.
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