Migraine management: How do the adult and paediatric migraines differ?

Abstract

Migraine is one of the common causes of severe and recurring headache. It may be difficult to manage in primary care settings, where it is under diagnosed and medically treated. Migraine can occur in children as well as in adults and it is three times more common in women than in men. Migraine in children is different from adults in various ways. Migraine management depends on the various factors like duration and severity of pain, associated symptoms, degree of disability, and initial response to treatment. The therapy of children and adolescents with migraines includes treatment modalities for acute attacks, prophylactic medications when the attacks are frequent, and biobehavioural modes of treatment to aid long-term management of the disorder. The long lasting outcome of childhood headaches and progression into adult headaches remains largely unknown. However, it has been suggested that adult migraine may represent a progressive disorder. In children, the progressive nature is uncertain and further investigations into longitudinal outcome and phenotypic changes in childhood headaches have yet to be recognized. Even though paediatric and adult migraines seem to be slightly different from one another, but not enough to categorize either as sole.

Keywords: Adult; Headache; Migraine; Paediatrics.