The subject of migraines among children is close to my heart. I had my first migraine around age 6. It was scary and painful and there wasn't much that could be done to relieve the pain, nausea or fear surrounding my migraine attacks.

Fortunately I've learned a lot about how to cope with migraines over the past 25 years. A lot of the tips and tricks I rely on are perfect for children because they don't involve potentially dangerous medication or other risky techniques.

1. Control the environment

People experiencing a migraine are usually extremely sensitive to light, sound, smell and touch. Therefore, it is important to control these conditions as much as possible to increase your child's comfort during a migraine attack.

To deal with sensitivity to light, close the shades on the room where your child is resting and provide a pair of comfortable sunglasses or a sleeping mask to block out any light still creeping into the room.

Keep things as quiet as possible in the room your child is in and in the rest of the house. Try to avoid creating a lot of background noise because while it might seem minimal to you, anyone who has had sound sensitivity with a migraine will tell you that small sounds are dramatically amplified for you and increase your pain immensely.

Most people having a migraine find it helpful to have a cold pack or cool cloth to put on their forehead. A cool bath in a dark room might also be soothing to your child.

These are some popular products you might want to have on hand to help control your child's environment during a migraine attack:

Be Kool Soft Gel Sheets
Boo Boo Buddy Pet Cold Pack
Children's Sport Wrap Sunglasses
Chillow Pillow Cool Comfort Device
Hush Children's Sleep Mask
My-GraStick: Relief from Tension and Migraine Headaches
Well Patch Cooling Headache Pads


2. Use aromatherapy massage

All you need to create a soothing massage oil for your little one is high quality essential oils and a carrier oil, such as almond oil. Lavender and peppermint are two popular choices of essential oils. A combination of the two would be especially soothing if your child can tolerate both scents.

You'll simply want to mix a couple of drops of each variety of essential oil into about a 1/4 cup of your carrier oil.

Get a bit of the mixture on your fingertips and gently massage your child, concentrating on the neck, shoulders, back, arms and legs. Gently rub at the child' s temples in a circular motion, being careful to avoid the eyes.

Avoid any area where touch increases your child's pain or discomfort. Leaving traces of the oil behind can be nice because the scent will continue to calm and soothe your child long after your massage has ended.

3. Create distractions

Researchers have discovered that children cope better with pain if they are distracted by something enjoyable.

If your child can handle the light and sound, put on a DVD of her favorite movie or TV series to distract her focus from the pain. Play soothing, relaxing music or quietly read a happy story or fairy tale.

You can read more about the research underlying this theory here: Study: TV Soothes Pain Better Than Mom.

Take cues from what makes your child feel better. If silence is the best for her, respect that and keep things as quiet as possible until she feels better.

4. Talk about the fear

If you've ever had a migraine you know how much fear is a part of the experience. You wonder if you will ever feel better; if you did something to cause this pain; if you are being punished for a misdeed; when the next migraine might strike; and what you're going to miss out on while you're down for the count. These thoughts are overwhelming to most adults. Being a child means having limited capacity and life experiences to manage these emotions.

Instead of ignoring the migraine once it's over, find a quiet time to talk to your child about the experience. Ask her whether she was scared. Tell her it's not her fault and that she didn't do anything to deserve the pain and discomfort. Ask her if she prefers to be cuddled and touched during the pain or if that makes it worse. Ask if she prefers to be left alone and periodically checked on during an attack or if she prefers to have someone quietly sit with her and keep her company. Tell her she can always come to you when she's scared and tell you how she's feeling.

5. Develop coping strategies in advance

After a migraine has passed and your child has had a chance to recover, initiate a conversation about techniques for coping with pain. There are some excellent books for children that will help you approach the child on her level and teach her skills for dealing with such an overwhelming situation. Visualization can be a helpful tool for children dealing with pain, but you need to practice it when your child is feeling well. The throws of a severe migraine are not a good teaching moment.

Here are a couple of books I recommend:
Imagine a Rainbow: A Child's Guide for Soothing Pain
Little Tree: A Story for Children With Serious Medical Illness

How do you comfort your child when she has a migraine? How were you comforted as a child with migraines? Share your stories in the comments.

Technorati Tags: pain, coping, treatments, children, depression, migraines, chronic illness, health, somebody heal me

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Content by Diana E. Lee.