Abdominal migraines are migraines that occur mostly in children between the ages of five and nine.
The majority of these child sufferers develop common or classic migraines when they get older.
As the name implies, the most common symptom of this migraine type is abdominal pain.
Other symptoms include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, flushed or pale skin and sensitivity to light.
Headaches may or may not accompany abdominal migraine attacks.
Although the actual cause of abdominal migraine is not known, it is theorized that it comes from the part of the brain called area post-trema, which sends out abnormal brain waves that trigger the attack.
This form of migraine is not easy to diagnose and there are no definitive medical tests that prove or confirm if a person has it.
To add to this problem, children are unable to express themselves in a medically sufficient way.
The physician then has to rely on certain observable conditions to assess whether or not patients are afflicted with abdominal migraines.
These include attacks of moderate to severe abdominal pain lasting up to seventy-two hours and located in the midsection of the abdomen.
During episodes, the child is nauseous or vomiting, is pale and sometimes has dark circles around their eyes.
Upon physical examination, there is no indication of gastrointestinal or renal disease.
Since abdominal migraines are believed to be genetically-based, the doctor can also check the medical histories of immediate family members.
Most often than not, there is at least one member of the family who is also suffering from migraine, though this could be of a different type.
Physical exams will have to be conducted to make the diagnosis conclusive, including a sonogram, blood screening and urine tests.
Medications that are used for the more common types of migraine are prescribed for patients when the attacks are not that frequent.
These are the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-nausea medicines and triptans.
Beta blockers and those that interfere with the serotonin levels in the brain are also given.
Age is a major consideration when prescribing these medicines since most sufferers of abdominal migraine are children.
Those who experience frequent episodes have to undergo preventive therapies similar to those that are recommended for the other migraine types.
Since the nature of attacks varies from one child to another, treatments for abdominal migraines vary as well.
While only one drug might be sufficient for one sufferer, it might take a combination of these drugs to develop an effective treatment for another.
These are issues that have to be discussed with the doctor thoroughly and it might take a number of tries before something works.
Abdominal migraines rarely afflict adults but this does not mean that when the child gets older, the attacks will stop.
The most likely scenario is that symptoms will change to another type of migraine, usually the more common ones.
Hence, a thorough understanding of the disease is very important.
In this way, the patient will be able to manage the disease more effectively when he reaches adulthood.