May 7, 2010

Abdominal Migraine- Symptoms And Treatment

Posted in Category : Child Health

Symptoms

An abdominal migraine is mainly found to affect children and teenagers. The main age is actually between 5 to 10 years of age. However there are some people who can suffer from this condition of abdominal migraines all through their life. Many people who in their youth suffered from this problem then grew up and suffered from classic migraines later in life. When an abdominal migraine occurs the condition is found to be centered in the person’s abdomen. This is the region between a person’s breast and their pubic bones. The main symptoms to look out for are nausea, cramping, irritability and dizziness. Some other signs are loss of a person’s appetite and also vomiting. The person may even have bouts of diarrhea and may develop dark shadows under their eyes. They may even be intolerant to any kind of light. A normal abdominal migraine attack can last for up to 72 hours or can be a short one for around an hour. There is never really any head pain associated with this condition.

There is no known real cause for this condition. Most times doctors try to treat the pain with painkillers or some other kinds of medications. However, in the case of very young children painkillers or certain medications can prove to be too harsh and hence alternative means will need to be used. At times, the main problem most people face is in getting this condition correctly diagnosed. This is primarily because the symptoms of this condition can be confused with various other problems that a person might be suffering from. Some other conditions that are often confused with abdominal migraine are irritable bowel syndrome or at times even a stroke. There are certain other migraines which can affect a person which are called as silent migraines.

Treatment

Some simple home remedies that a child or an adult can follow include lying down in a darkened room. There should be no light at all. Also all sound should be eliminated. Try placing a hot water bottle or hot bag on the patient’s stomach to help in easing the pain. One can even try consuming some peppermint tea. One can even introduce a white sound machine to help in eliminating any noise. One can try meditation or yoga and see if these activities help in providing some relief too. Ginger is also found to be quite effective in reducing the pain and other symptoms of nausea that accompany this condition.