Abdominal Migraines: Could Your Child Be Suffering from This Condition?

I recently switched my son's pediatrician and took him to see his new pediatrician today. He went because of a skin rash, but I figured since he was seeing the doctor I would voice my other concerns that I had about my son's health. I told the doctor that there were two things I had become concerned with regarding my son's well being. One was he seemed to suffer from migraines and second he would complain of stomachaches four to five times a month or more. After five minutes of telling me his tummy hurt he would vomit. I told the doctor this upset me because it was not unlike anything I had ever seen a child do before. He would projectile vomit. Also food that he had eaten hours earlier was undigested.

The pediatrician continued to listen to me and then explained to me that my son sounded like he had migraines as well as abdominal or stomach migraines. Now the migraine for heads I had heard of, but stomach migraines was new to me. So I asked the doctor to explain to me what stomach migraines were so that I could better understand what was happening to my son.

Stomach migraines are an idiopathic disorder that is seen mainly in children. When a child gets a stomach migraine, they experience midline abdominal pain with attacks lasting one to seventy-two hours. In between these episodes your child can experience complete normality. When pain is happening during an episode it is usually moderate to severe. It is felt in the midline of the abdomen, usually around the belly button area. Sometimes, though, the pain is poorly located, meaning the child isn't sure where the pain is really coming from.

When a child is suffering from an attack of pain, it is usually accompanied by nausea and half of children who suffer from this will vomit. Some patients will have marked pallor while other patients appear flushed. Sometimes the pain is severe enough to interfere with normal daily activities. These stomach migraines are self-limiting and will resolve themselves spontaneously. After the episode is over, the child is well and symptom free in between attacks.

Attacks of these abdominal migraines can happen at any time of the day but seem to occur most frequently when the child wakes in the morning. Some symptoms that are associated with this are sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sound, and dizziness. Symptoms of these abdominal migraines appear normally in children before puberty, reaching a peak at the age of twenty years old. After this age the symptoms start going away for most and resolves with age. Many children who experience abdominal migraines will also have migraine headaches.

There isn't a known cure for abdominal migraines, although there is a medication that can help control symptoms. In a controlled clinical study it was shown that Pizotifen reduced the frequency and intensity of attacks. Most abdominal migraines are treated with rest, as this condition usually resolves itself with sleep.