Prophylaxis of Migraine in Children

Abstract

SYNOPSIS About 4 percent of school children suffer from migraine. To prevent attacks it is important to inform the child, the parents and the teachers about the nature of migraine, to prescribe a sound rhythm for the child and to try to remove the attack‐provoking factors. It is not always necessary to use prophylactic therapy for migraine in childhood. However, if the attacks are severe and occur three or four times a month then the use of prophylactic drugs is worthwhile. In a pilot study cyproheptadine was given to 19 children aged 6 to 16 years with good effect. Pizotifen was also tried and gave the same good result. Thirty‐two school children aged 7 to 16 years were admitted to a double‐blind, single crossover propranolol vs. placebo study. The result was good, and side effects of these three drugs were benign.