Migraines & Headaches Health Center

Kids' Migraines: Over-the-Counter Drugs Best

When Drugs Are Needed

Despite behavioral therapy, children may still have migraines from time to time. When they do, drugs can help.

"If in spite of lifestyle modification a child is having one or two disabling headaches a month, we try to treat them," Lewis says.

Penzien says headache specialists are wary of as-yet-unknown long-term effects of migraine drugs on children.

"We tend to treat conservatively with the medications -- not because we are anti-medication, but because the potential for side effects are strong with developing nervous systems," Penzien says. "Even though we don't know there is a problem with the newer drugs, it makes you nervous. The truth is that most children are using a combination of drugs and behavioral therapy. Usually the safer analgesics over the counter can be quite helpful."

The biggest problem facing children with migraines is not that there are few proven treatments. The problem, Lewis says, is that parents and doctors are slow to recognize serious headaches in children.

"The first step is to get it recognized that a child suffers from migraine headaches," Lewis says. "There is a gross under-recognition of the problem in children. Many parents don't know that children can have migraines. Yet up to 5% of elementary school children and 15% of high school children do."