Many people think that migraine headaches only occur in adults. However, the truth is that migraine headaches can strike as early as age two and they can be just as debilitating for these young sufferers. In fact, as many as five percent of children in grade school have migraine headaches. By the time they enter high school the number of adolescents with migraine increases to about 20 percent. Some youngsters have two to three migraine headaches a week.
Since the diagnosis of migraine and other headaches in children and adolescents is alarmingly inadequate, Roosevelt Hospital’s Headache Institute has launched the Adolescent Headache Medicine Program, led by Lawrence Newman, M.D., Director of the Headache Institute at Roosevelt Hospital. Dr. Newman says, “The goal of this new program is to provide treatment and appropriate care for adolescents with migraine so that they don’t have to needlessly suffer. At the Institute, their complaints are taken seriously. It is well known that if young people are not treated correctly at an early age, their migraines may become more frequent and severe and are much more difficult to treat at that point. The good news is that if we treat patients at the early onset of migraine, we can help prevent their migraine from becoming more severe as they get older.”
Because many children with migraine are not getting properly diagnosed or treated, this can also lead to problems in school, both academically and socially. Joshua Cohen, M.D., an attending neurologist specializing in both adolescent and adult headache disorders at Roosevelt Hospital’s Headache Institute says, “At the Headache Institute we use a multi-disciplinary approach to better address the needs of our young patients and their families. These headaches affect not only the patient but impacts on the whole family. Through correct diagnosis and management, we hope to give our patients control over their headaches.”
If you would like to learn more about the Headache Institute’s Adolescent Medicine Program or to set up an appointment, please call 212/523-5869.
Adolescent Headache Center