Lesson 1Communicating headache diagnosis and management to families and older children: explaining nature of migraine, safety of treatments, follow-up planThis focuses on simple, age-fit talks about migraine diagnosis, outlook, and treatment safety, tackling parent worries, boosting sticking to plans, setting hopes, and making written action and check-up schedules for Namibian families.
Explaining migraine using child-friendly languageDiscussing prognosis and treatment safetyAddressing parental fears and misconceptionsBuilding adherence and shared decision-makingCreating written headache action plansLesson 2When to use headache diaries and validated paediatric headache questionnaires for monitoring and diagnosisThis explores diaries and checked questionnaires for diagnosis, tracking how often and bad headaches are, and adjusting care, picking tools by age, teaching families, reading patterns, and using data in follow-ups in Namibia.
Core elements of a paediatric headache diarySelecting age-appropriate diary formatsValidated paediatric headache questionnairesUsing tools to assess disability and impactIncorporating diary data into treatment plansLesson 3Preventive therapy indications and options: lifestyle measures, when to consider preventive meds (topiramate, amitriptyline, propranolol), evidence summary and monitoringThis outlines starting prevention based on attack numbers, strength, and bother, reviewing life ways, supplements, key drugs with doses, proof, sides, checks, and family choices in Namibian child care.
Criteria for initiating preventive treatmentLifestyle and behavioural prevention strategiesTopiramate: dosing, efficacy, and monitoringAmitriptyline and propranolol in childrenNutraceuticals and emerging preventive optionsLesson 4School accommodations and multidisciplinary management: individualised plans, trigger avoidance, hydration and sleep hygiene counsellingThis covers school helps for kids with repeat headaches, like special plans, rest spots, and medicine rules, stressing trigger cuts, water intake, sleep care, stress handling, and school staff teamwork in Namibia.
Designing individualised school accommodation plansCoordinating with school nurses and counsellorsHydration, nutrition, and sleep hygiene counsellingManaging stress, anxiety, and mood comorbiditiesRole of physical therapy and psychology servicesLesson 5Headache history essentials in children: onset, duration, frequency, quality, triggers, effect on school/play, red flagsThis details main parts of child headache history, like start, length, how often, feel, causes, and school/play effects, family past, medicine use, and urgent signs needing quick checks in Namibian clinics.
Characterizing onset, duration, and frequencyAssessing pain quality and associated symptomsIdentifying environmental and lifestyle triggersEvaluating impact on school, play, and sleepScreening for red flags during history takingLesson 6Acute treatment options for paediatric migraine: dosing and age-appropriate choices (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, triptans when indicated), nonpharmacologic measuresThis reviews first quick migraine treatments for kids, with weight doses, age limits, no-gos, mixing drugs with water, rest, behaviour ways, and emergency room needs in Namibian settings.
Weight-based dosing of acetaminophen and ibuprofenAge limits and formulations for common analgesicsIndications and precautions for paediatric triptansNonpharmacologic strategies during acute attacksCriteria for emergency department referralLesson 7Red flags for secondary headache and when to order neuroimaging: progressive morning vomiting, focal neurologic signs, systemic features, positional headacheThis defines warning signs for non-primary headaches, like worsening patterns, morning sick, focal issues, body illness, position changes, when to scan, and family result talks in Namibia.
Progressive course and morning vomitingFocal neurologic signs and seizuresSystemic symptoms and immunocompromisePositional headache and intracranial pressureChoosing MRI versus CT in childrenLesson 8Migraine diagnostic criteria in children and common variants (episodic migraine, abdominal migraine, vestibular migraine)This reviews child migraine rules based on global standards, differing from adults with shorter times and side pain, describing belly and balance types, with practical diagnosis steps for Namibian kids.
ICHD criteria adapted for paediatric migraineDifferences between child and adult migraineRecognizing abdominal migraine in childrenRecognizing vestibular migraine in childrenDiagnostic approach to migraine variants
