Paediatric Primary Headache: Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Treatments

Abstract

Headaches are common in children and adolescents, and are the most common pain complaint when seeking medical advice. Primary headaches are one of the most common disorders of childhood, with migraine and tension type headache being the most prominent. Treatment strategies for primary headaches vary according to patient’s age, family structure, culture and beliefs, headache diagnosis, and according to the disability the headache imposes on the patient’s daily living. A multidisciplinary treatment approach was found to be an effective strategy for children and adolescents; it was shown to improve multiple outcome variants, including frequency and severity of headache, and school days missed because of headache.