Migraine affects 15% of the population. There may be a genetic predisposition to it, as it tends to run in families, but it can affect people of all ages (even young children), although twice as many women as men suffer.

If you have a susceptibility to migraine, an attack can strike at any time throughout your life. Migraine can evolve throughout life and, as the symptoms, severity and frequency change, different treatment approaches may be required. Fortunately there are now many effective treatments available.
You may suffer from migraines for life but it is possible to manage your condition effectively.

What Is Migraine?

Migraine is not "just another name for a headache" but a complex neurological condition which occurs episodically, often without warning, and can last for anything from 4 hours to 3 days. Symptoms include:

• Intense throbbing headache which is often only on one side of the head
• Visual disturbances such as flashing lights, zigzag patterns or blind spots in the vision
• Increased sensitivity to light (photophobia) so that you need sunglasses even on a dull day and just want to shut yourself away in a darkened room
• Increased sensitivity to sound (phonophobia) so that even the ticking of a clock can seem deafeningly loud
• Increased sensitivity to smells (osmophobia) so that even everyday smells that you don't normally notice at all can make you feel faint and nauseous
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Tingling in the limbs or numbness on the affected side

If you have recurrent headaches accompanied by 2 or more of the above symptoms, you should consult your doctor for an accurate diagnosis and to discuss appropriate treatment. Between attacks sufferers are completely well.
The average number of attacks is 13 per year but some people may only get very infrequent attacks.

Migraine In Children

Children and even babies can suffer from migraine. Sometimes in young children the predominant symptoms are abdominal pain, sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting. It is only the regular intermittent pattern of the attacks, sometimes coupled with a family history, which suggests the diagnosis. When the more typical migraine symptoms of headache occurs in children they will often report it in the forehead or the middle of the head rather than on one side.

Children may also experience symptoms including pallor, sometimes with dark rings around the eyes, dizziness, confusion, lack of co-ordination or occasionally non-specific aches and pains in the limbs. Children with migraine often have a tendency to travel sickness.

Attacks in children are usually shorter than in adults.

During a migraine a child will usually want to site or lie quietly and may refuse food. A child who complains of headache and then immediately runs off to play does not have a migraine.

It is useful to keep a migraine diary to try and establish any pattern to the attacks. Dramatic improvement can be achieved by the avoidance of trigger factors. One of the most common trigger factors in children is lack of food or long gaps between food, and attacks can often be eliminated completely by eating small, regular meals containing slow release carbohydrates; ensure that they go no longer than 3 hours without food during the day and 12 hours at night