I am a mother who suffers from migraines from time to time. While my migraines are mostly the silent type with aura, nevertheless, they are still migraines. I have a son who also suffers from migraine headaches but his are the regular, painful migraines where he just has to find a quiet, dark place and sleep it off.
What is interesting is that researchers have now linked migraines in moms with colic in their infants. A new study shows that infants whose mothers have migraine headaches are more than two-and-a-half times more likely to have colic than other infants. Researchers say the results suggest that colic may be an early manifestation of migraine. Since migraine is a highly genetic disorder, the study suggests that infant colic may be an early sign that a child may be predisposed toward migraine headache later in life. My son had some colic when he was an infant and now he suffers from migraines occasionally. Is that co-incidence or are they on to something?
THE RESEARCH
For the study, researchers used 154 mother-and-child pairs. They compared the risk of colic in infants among these pairs. The mothers were surveyed at their child’s 2-month-old well child visit at pediatric clinics in San Francisco. The results of the study indicated that nearly 29% of infants whose mothers had a history of migraine had colic, compared with 11% of those whose mothers did not have migraine. Additionally, infants whose fathers had a history of migraine were also more likely to have colic, but this relationship was not as significant as the mother-child link.
Researchers say that asking about a mother’s history of migraine and/or her child’s experience with colic in infancy may help identify young people at risk for migraine later in life because migraine runs in families. The study has helped researchers expand their understanding about the different expressions of migraine across a person’s lifetime.
It is truly amazing what researchers are discovering about migraine headaches. I would have never thought that my son’s colic could be a precursor to his migraine behavior now. This knowledge will definitely be helpful for those whose families suffer from migraine headache.
Tags: blurred vision, dizziness, head pain, lightheadedness, migraine symptoms, nausea, vomiting
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