School

Being in a supportive environment has resulted in fewer migraines. Making sure your child has teachers who understand your child's triggers, support the headache hygiene your child needs, and help to draw your child's attention away from the pain will enable your child to cope during school.

Learn more about the impact of migraines during the school day.

Running Around the House, and Having a Migraine at the Same Time

Often it was hard to believe that our son was experiencing a migraine. One moment he would be crying out in pain, irritable, and even oppositional; and the next moment, he would be running around the house playing. He did not look like he was experiencing a migraine, but he was. I learned from my son's neurologist that sometimes children experience migraines that do not last more than a few minutes. In my son's case, he was still having a migraine, but the pain he was experiencing had decreased to a tolerable level or his attention was so focused on something else that he didn't sense the pain.

MSG and Hidden Sources

One day my son placed a juice box on the kitchen counter and exclaimed that the juice gave him a headache. This spurred me to investigate which ingredient could be the cause. I found an interesting list of ingredients, which contained enough MSG to cause a reaction in certain people. It turned out that the juice contained natural flavors, which often contain MSG. After this discovery, I switched to real apple or grape juice because these juices did not contain ingredients that affected my son.

If you are interested in a list of potential sources of MSG, check out this web site http://www.holisticmed.com/msg/msg-sources.txt

Migraine Hygiene

When we hear the word hygiene, we think of cleanliness with regard to our bodies. Migraine hygiene refers to the many steps that can be taken to avoid or cope with migraines.

As a parent of a migraineur, I found that my son was receptive to learning strategies that prevented or reduced pain; however, he refused to apply them. I think this was because it was so difficult for him to remember what he had learned when he was experiencing pain.

I believe this ability comes with maturation. Now that he is twelve he will actively drink enough water, put himself to sleep, or avoid triggers. Just as symptoms and types of migraines vary from person to person; migraine hygiene is unique to each individual.

My son must incorporate the following "rituals" in his daily life: maintaining a certain level of hydration, avoiding extreme heat, eating 3 meals plus 2 snacks every day, maintaining a consistent bed time, avoiding foods with MSG, avoiding artificial odors (candles), and reducing stress.

What steps does your child take to control his or her migraine headaches? Please share. Hopefully, this information will help other individuals who are struggling to cope with this condition.

Biofeedback

When my son was in third grade, he learned a number of different biofeedback techniques to help him relax and reduce his pain. A psychologist who specialized in pain management worked with him one hour a week for a couple of months.

He was taught how to visualize a pleasant setting by thinking about the sights and sounds of a particular locale.

He was also taught how to rub his hands together in order to bring the flow of blood to his hands rather than his head. This was called "Hot Hands."

She also taught him deep breathing, how to make his body feel loose and relaxed like a rag doll and something called "Tense and Release." My son would tense a part of his body and then try to sustain a relaxed state after releasing the tension.

As with other remedies mentioned in this blog, they must be tried by each individual to determine what works.

To learn more about relaxation techniques go to this link.

Lavender

Sometimes my son asks me to sprinkle lavender oil on his pillow when he has a bad migraine. The smell of the oil is soothing and helps him to relax. He also has a small pillow, which is filled with lavender and can be placed on his forehead or around his neck.

Basically, we use whatever makes him comfortable when he is dealing with a bad headache. Through trial and error we have found a number of things which help control his pain. It's essential to try different remedies to see what works for you!

If you are interested in trying lavender, many pharmacies, health food stores, or even specialty bath stores sell this pleasant smelling herb.

Learn more about the importance of using natural remedies and relaxation. http://www.foxnews.com/health/headaches/index.html

Phonophobia and Photophobia

What is phonophobia?

It's the heightened sensitivity to sound and what I find really interesting is that the sound does not have to be loud. When my son is entering the pre-migraine phase, he is often phonophobic and becomes very irritable. Hearing a conversation at a normal volume is very unpleasant for him. According to his neurologist, there is no way to desensitize him. He just has to learn to cope with this sensitivity.

What do I do when my son is phonophobic?

I merely try to get him to concentrate on relaxing and limit the amount of sound in his environment. As you can imagine, this is really hard when a younger sibling is present! Usually, my son has a meltdown, and with help eventually relaxes and calms down.

Some children and adults experience a heightened sensitivity to light rather than sound. This is called photophobia, and many people who experience this feel better in a dark or dimly lit room.

It turns out that I am phonophobic and never knew this until my son's migraines were diagnosed. It seems that this phenomena is becoming more well known today, and many people that I meet who are also migraineurs admit they can't stand certain sounds when they have a migraine.