Abdominal migraine is a type of migraine which mostly affects children between the age of 5 and nine years. Certain cases of this type of migraine have also been noticed in adults. Abdominal migraine is often characterized by severe pain in the midline abdomen, queasiness and vomiting. The duration of an attack can last from 1 hour to 72 hours wherein the sufferer would be normal in between the attacks with no signs of any symptoms related to abdominal migraine.

The criteria for classification of abdominal migraine are as follows:

There should be at least five attacks with the understated symptoms.

Abdominal pain attacks should last from 1 to 72 hours.

The abdominal pain in the midline location gives a sore feeling and is severe or moderate in intensity.

There will be at least two of the following symptoms- nausea, vomiting, paleness or anorexia.

The symptoms of abdominal pain usually start showing up in children before they attain puberty. These attacks seem to peak at the age of 12 years and thereafter the frequency of the attacks takes a downward slope. In most of the cases the symptoms of abdominal migraine fade away with age, but there are still some cases wherein the symptoms continue up to adolescence.

Diagnosis:

There is no specific diagnostic test for confirming abdominal migraine. The diagnostic criteria includes review of the patient’s and family’s medical history, evaluations of the symptoms that the patient is experiencing, and examining and striking out any other disease that might be causing the symptoms. Diseases such as peptic ulcers, crohn’s disease, urogenital disorder and irritable bowel syndrome can also trigger similar symptoms and must be tested and ruled out.

Treatment:

Severe cases of abdominal migraine are usually treated by taking rest and developing a proper sleep routine. The patient should be kept in a quiet and dark room and made to lie down and have adequate rest.

The symptoms can be treated by using simple analgesic drugs that bring down the pain associated with this condition. Studies show that Pizotifen is very helpful in minimizing the intensity of the attacks if taken on a regular basis. Propranonol is also considered to be helpful in treating the symptoms associated with the attack.