Migraine: a common cause of headache

Acute headaches in a child evoke anxiety in parents, of a possible catastrophic underlying intracranial pathology. Headaches constitute up to 2 to 6% of all emergency room visit. The prevalence of migraine is increasing. The majority of children have migraine without aura, and about one fifth have migraine with aura. Complicated migraine presents with dramatic neurologic signs and remains a diagnosis of exclusion. Children with migraine require reassurance, modification of life style and food habits, combined with judicious use of simple abortive medications and antiemetics. Prophylaxis in migraine is recommended for frequent or severe attacks and in complicated migraine.