Flashes of light and blurred vision. No appetite. Searing pain at the temples or front of the head. Tingling hands. Arms or legs go weak. Your teen - very likely your daughter - wants to do nothing but lie in a dark room and sleep. It may be the first of many headaches known as migraines.
Adolescent Link
According to the American Council for Headache Education (ACHE), 4% to 5% of children have suffered migraines, in fact 20% of adult migraineurs (people with migraines) had their first before age 10. Before puberty, boys and girls have migraines in equal numbers; after puberty, girls outnumber boys. Migraines are inherited -that means kids get them because their parents do.
Migraine sufferers undergo a transition from childhood to adolescence and again from adolescence to adulthood, says Dr. A. David Rothner, M.D., Chief of Child Neurology at the Cleveland Clinic . Migraines in children, he explains, are more likely to take place in the afternoon, last as little as an hour, and often have associated symptoms such as vomiting. Adolescent migraines are more common in the morning - teens may awaken to one - and are more painful but have fewer associated symptoms. They may last three to four hours and are focused in both temples or in front of the head. Adult migraine pain is usually located on one side of the head.
Dr. Rothner says most neurologists "feel very strongly that migraine is related to hormones." When a girl begins to menstruate and hormone levels rise, migraine potential rises as well. Women are three times more likely than men to suffer from these headaches, and a majority of those report that they occur around their periods and diminish during pregnancy. Dr. Rothner also notes a strong connection between birth control pills - an issue for some teens - and migraines.