In some cases, headaches lead to significant violations of the capacity of children and adolescents, usually manifested by frequent absenteeism. Treatment begins with the recommendations on the observance of daily routine, which involves compulsory attendance at school. In most cases, attending school does not cause an increase in pain, and studying plays the role of a distraction.
Prolonged absence from school leads to isolation and fear of academic and social responsibilities, which serves as an additional stress factor that can aggravate headaches in the future. The process of social and emotional formation in a school cannot be replaced by education at home. The longer the absence in school, the more difficult it is for the child to return to schooling due to the loss of the usual rhythm of academic activity and the fear of returning to school.
Tactics of conducting children who miss classes at school due to headache:
• conducting a full examination to confirm the diagnosis of headache;
• prescription of effective drugs and non-drug treatment;
• training in relaxation techniques, cognitive behavioral therapy techniques and pain control techniques;
• strict adherence to the daily regimen, including regular bedtime (without watching TV at a later time) and regular meals (including breakfast);
• daily aerobic exercises;
• informing parents that the child should attend school even on days when headaches occur, only if they are not accompanied by vomiting. If vomiting does occur, the child should be sent to school immediately after it stops;
• Alert the school nurse that a child may stay at a school medical center for 1 hour during a headache attack and then return to class.
Family psychotherapy sessions are required to help parents develop methods that will convince the child that they need to attend school, develop social life skills usually developed in school conditions, and also determine ways of behavior that dispel parents’ doubts about the benefits of resuming normal everyday life. activity of the child. Remind them that migraine attacks in children usually last 1-2 hours, so the absence of school throughout the day is not justified.