Watch Out For Abdominal Migraines - 1 in 20 Children Suffer From Migraines

I was a little freaked out when I saw how with migraine headaches children may have them and a parent might not know. On the surface, the symptoms might not make you think of migraines at all. I do have a tendency to be over-protective of my kids. Probably more because they like to play with snapping turtles and eat bugs but still, I do worry a bit when one of them is out of sorts. Could one of my children be at risk?

When I first found out that about 1 in 20 children are suffering from migraines I was shocked. "Isn't a migraine headache just for adults?" I thought.

Then I started to read up on the topic. Migraines are best known for the headaches, but people will also describe a sensitivity to light and certain sounds, pains or cramping in the abdomen, and even vomiting. Sometimes the migraine headaches children get will be minor compared to other symptoms, most notably what is referred to as abdominal migraines and it is most common in children between the ages of 6 and 11.

Prior to the age of puberty migraine syndrome and abdominal migraines in particular are pretty evenly distributed between girls and boys. I mention this because after puberty females make up 75 percent of the migraine sufferers. At least after puberty, abdominal migraine episodes are more rare and many children who experienced those as a child do not experience migraine headaches as an adult.

An abdominal migraine is usually mild to medium pain in the abdomen. Younger children usually cannot pinpoint the location of the pain. Signs of bloating, cramping, vomiting or loss of appetite are all things to watch for.

Since abdomen pain can be caused by a wide variety of conditions other causes need to be ruled out before a diagnosis can be made. Obviously if these symptoms tend to repeat over time and also they occur when your child does not appear to be ill otherwise, visit your doctor and mention a concern about abdominal migraines.

If your child is having some of the symptoms mentioned and you want more information, I would suggest first reading about how migraine headaches children have can go undetected but you can find out the common symptoms for children and also know what the high risk factors are.

There you will also discover that if your child does have migraines, there is hope and there are many options for controlling and treating migraine headaches and abdominal migraines.

Included in this information are references to a very comprehensive guide called The Migraine Relief [http://www.the-migraine-relief.info] Guide. Reading this guide will provide the detail and guidance you need to prevent, control and treat migraines with confidence that you are on the right path to improving you or your child's life.

This post was written by: Franklin Manuel

Franklin Manuel is a professional blogger, web designer and front end web developer. Follow him on Twitter