When a child has one sided throbbing head pain, that may or may not be accompanied by visual, motor or cognitive dysfunction, there is a chance that your child is suffering from migraines.
If your child has cycles of vomiting and nausea and possibly abdominal pain, that last for hours and recur every few months, it is possible your child is suffering from migraines, and a specialist may be need to confirm this diagnosis.
If you or your spouse suffers from migraines, there is a 45% chance that your child will. If both you and your spouse suffer with migraines, there is a 70% chance that your child will.
It has now been shown in a recent study published in the respected headache journal, Cephalalgia, 2011 that children who are migraine sufferers are much more likely than non-sufferers to have pressured or painful arteries on their scalp. In fact the sufferers were almost 250% more likely to have these pressured painful scalp arteries than non-migraine sufferers.
The arteries in question that were most often a source of the pressure pain were the frontal branch of the superficial artery and the superficial temporal artery itself before it splits and one part of it forms the frontal branch.
The superficial temporal artery runs up from the side of the neck (near the carotid artery) in front of the ear and can be felt around the temple. The frontal branch of this artery runs upwards to the forehead and can be felt on the side of the forehead.
I am providing this information so that you can make informed decisions about what may be causing your child to have symptoms like those described above. Please do not attempt to diagnose this condition by yourself because other serious conditions can cause similar side-effects.
If your child suffers any or all of these symptoms, it would be advisable to discuss them with your pediatrician and he or she will decide whether or not you need to consult a neurological specialist.
Curt Hendrix, M.S., C.C.N., C.N.S
