Seven out of ten young people in school or college suffer from regular headaches and many of them have to take time out of lessons, reports the charity the Migraine Trust.

Sometimes schools and parents don’t take it seriously, but migraine can be really painful and can really affect children and young people’s school attendance and attainment, their future job prospects and their leisure time.

Now the charity the Migraine Trust has brought out two special information packs “Migraine Advice for 7 to 12 year olds” and “Migraine Advice for Teens” to help young people and their parents understand headache and migraine.

The packs give practical advice and help, explaining the difference between normal headache and migraine, how to keep a migraine diary, and tips to prevent an attack.

The packs include information on eating regularly, drinking, avoiding stress and taking breaks from the computer.

There’s also advice about periods, partying and exam stress, for the older children. Migraine often starts at puberty.

Wendy Thomas, Chief Executive of the Migraine Trust said: “When your children complain about headache you’re never sure how serious it really is. But if they suffer migraine they really can feel terrible and they might need medical help. The good news is that you can do something positive and these packs will help parents and young people get on top of the problem and feel confident to see a doctor.”

Dr David Kernick, the ‘headache champion’ of the Royal College of General Practitioners, recently told a meeting at Parliament that parents should not hesitate to take their child to the doctor, because headaches are the most common cause of pain in young people, yet few parents seek help from a GP.

The Migraine Trust’s packs “Migraine Advice for Teens” (£5) and “Migraine Advice for 7 to 12 year olds” (£2.50) are available from www.migrainetrust.org 

This year’s Migraine Awareness Week runs from 6-12 September 2009