The bigger picture

Abdominal migraine may sound like an invented condition, but this is most definitely not the case: it is listed in the International Headache Society’s widely-regarded IHCD-3 (International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition) and there is a growing body of evidence for it being under-diagnosed as a cause of recurrent abdominal pain in children, affecting some one to four per cent of boys and girls.

AM rarely persists into adulthood, but often evolves into more traditional forms of migraine. In children, the headache of migraine tends to affect the whole head rather than one side only, and attacks are usually short – a few hours at most. Aura may be a feature, as sometimes are vomiting, dizziness, sensitivity to noise and light, fatigue and motion sickness.