My child has migraines

Treating migraine with hypnosis

The method is not really new: the High Authority for Health (formerly known by the acronym of ANAES) has in fact been recommending the use of relaxation and hypnosis as a basic treatment for migraine since February 2003. ‘child.

But these psycho-bodily approaches are mainly provided by city psychologists and psychomotor therapists… therefore not reimbursed. This limits (alas!) The number of children who learn to manage migraine attacks. Fortunately, a film (see box on the right) should quickly convince certain medical teams specializing in pain in children to offer this treatment for migraine in a hospital environment (as is already the case at the hospital in Paris). ‘child Armand Trousseau).

Migraine: another story of heredity

You have to get used to it: dogs do not make cats and migraine children often have migraine parents or even grandparents! 

Often times you have been (wrongly) given diagnoses of “liver attacks”, “sinus attacks” or “pre-menstrual syndrome” (isn’t it madam?) Because your headache remains mild and quickly gives way to analgesics.

However, you have migraine, without knowing it… and there is a good chance that you have transmitted this hereditary pathology to your child.

The result: about one in 10 children suffers from a “recurrent primary headache”, in other words migraine.

It’s not just “shrink”

While all the check-ups (X-ray, CT scan, MRI, blood test, etc.) do not reveal any abnormalities, your child regularly complains of having a headache, either in the forehead or on both sides of the skull.

The crisis, often unpredictable, begins with a marked pallor, his eyes are darkened, he is embarrassed by noise and light.

Frequently rated at 10/10 by children, pain results from multiple interactions: to heredity are added physiological factors (hunger or intense exercise) or psychological (stress, annoyance or conversely a very great joy) which cause a migraine attack to appear.

Give priority to basic treatment

The effectiveness of relaxation and hypnosis methods as a disease-modifying treatment has been widely demonstrated in numerous studies.

Practiced from 4/5 years old, these techniques allow the child to use his imagination to find the tools that help him manage crises, so as not to be trapped by pain.

During the relaxation session, the therapist suggests that the child focus on an image: a painting, a memory, a color… in short, an image that evokes calm. He then leads her to work on her breathing.

Likewise, hypnosis serves as an “imaginary pump”: the child imagines himself in another place, real or invented, which evokes calm and tranquility and manages to channel the pain.

Gradually, the number of seizures decreases, and so does their intensity. Above all, the child is relieved more quickly by analgesic drugs.

Because, let us remember, these methods are part of basic treatments which are part of a global management of migraine. It does not disappear as if by magic, but little by little the children are less anxious and their whole quality of life is changing.

A film to better understand

Provide educational support to inform health professionals, parents and children with migraine about the value of psycho-bodily methods in the face of migraine, this is the goal set by the doctors, psychologists and psychomotor therapists of the Center for migraine in children at the Armand Trousseau children’s hospital in Paris.

A film (VHS or DVD format), produced with the support of the CNP Foundation, is therefore now available on request by email to: fondation@cnp.fr. 

Please note: after the stock of 300 films has run out and after March 31, 2006, the film will only be broadcast by the Sparadrap association (www.sparadrap.org)