Headache in children, treatment, causes, how to get rid of it, how to relieve it, how to treat a headache in a child (cephalalgia)

How to recognize a headache in a child?

Diagnosis of headaches in young children and newborns is carried out by a specialized specialist. It is difficult to determine at home, since children cannot yet accurately describe what is bothering them. There are indirect signs that will allow parents to understand that the child has a headache, but they are practically no different from pain in any other location. These include:

• anxiety, sleep disturbances, frequent crying;
• refusal to eat, weight loss;
• some children constantly touch their head with their hands, they can pull their hair and tear it out, which is accompanied by increased excitability.

Children of preschool and primary school age may already complain of a headache and indicate in which area the discomfort is felt. In patients of this age category, chronic pain occurs in no more than 3-8% of cases, and in adolescents this figure can reach 50 and even 80%.

When to make an immediate appointment with a doctor

It is necessary to get an appointment with a neurologist as soon as possible if your child has:

• frequently recurring attacks of headache and/or dizziness;
• dizziness lasting more than 20 minutes or loss of consciousness;
• blurred vision;
• involuntary rapid eye movements during an attack;
• tinnitus.

Consultation with a specialist is mandatory if parents or other close relatives suffer from migraines, VSD or vertebral artery syndrome.

But due to his age, the child cannot always complain about his health or describe the nature of the symptoms that bother him. The hardest thing to understand is what worries a child under 3 years old. In such situations, you should make an appointment with a doctor if:

• the occurrence of changes in behavior, increased fatigue, loss of interest in outdoor games;
• frequent anxiety, crying;
• drowsiness, reluctance of the child to wake up.

You can suspect the presence of dizziness by the fact that the child begins to fall more often. Although falls are not uncommon for young children, nevertheless, if the baby suddenly falls out of the blue, involuntarily tries to hold on to a wall or a suitable object, you should ask him to try to walk in a straight line. If the child succeeds in this with difficulty or does not succeed at all, consultation with a neurologist is mandatory.

When a headache occurs, young children may clutch their head and scream or cry. With prolonged attacks, this may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, weakness and pale skin.

Causes of headaches in children

Headache can occur at any age. Acute or chronic, it can occur in a specific area or spread to the entire surface of the head. Its exact localization, as well as the time of occurrence and the conditions under which it worsens, are of important diagnostic importance. One of the first criteria is the location of the headache, depending on this we can tentatively assume what caused it.

1. Pain in the back of the head often occurs due to tension during the day. They can also be caused by pathologies in the cervical spine and various postural disorders.
2. Discomfort in the temporal lobe often indicates autonomic disorders. Another cause of pain in the temples is diseases of the vascular system.
3. Pain in the forehead is one of the manifestations of hypertension. It is also diagnosed with increased intracranial or intraocular pressure.
4. Unilateral pain that completely covers half of the head is a sign of migraine. It is acute and occurs suddenly, regardless of the time of day and other factors.

Doctors at the Clinical Brain Institute specialize in diagnosing and treating children of any age, including newborns, who exhibit signs of headaches. Methods are selected individually, taking into account the characteristics of each patient.

Headache in a newborn

Headaches can be caused by birth trauma or fetal development disorders immediately before childbirth. They occur when there is insufficient oxygen supply to the newborn’s brain, which causes damage to individual cells and large nerve structures. Even if fetal development occurs normally throughout pregnancy, the following abnormalities may occur during labor and in the first few months of life:

• umbilical cord entanglement is a common complication;
• infectious diseases of the mother suffered during pregnancy;
• injuries and displacements of the vertebrae in the cervical region;
• congenital diseases of the cardiovascular system.

One of the dangerous causes of headaches in newborns is hydrocephalus, or dropsy of the brain. The disease is a violation of the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and leads to increased intracranial pressure, as well as constant compression of the tissues of the central nervous system.

Household reasons

Even a healthy child can have a headache. Constant fatigue, high stress at school and in extracurricular activities, stress and poor lifestyle are common causes of chronic headaches. Despite the fact that a child’s brain is capable of absorbing and processing a huge amount of information, the learning process must take place at a comfortable pace. In order to eliminate the simplest factors that can cause headaches, you should follow the basic rules:

• maintain a sleep schedule, provide the child with free time to play;
• spend time outdoors;
• provide regular healthy nutrition with the necessary supply of vitamins, including during the cold season;
• Minimize spending time in front of the monitor.

Tension headache is one of its most common types. It occurs not only in adults, but also in children at any age. First-graders (during adaptation to a new schedule), as well as adolescents 13-15 years old, are most often affected. Its causes are nervous tension, as well as prolonged stay in a sedentary position. A sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise can also cause constant discomfort.

Blood pressure abnormalities

Chronic, pressing pain that often occurs in the front of the head often indicates a pressure disorder of various types. These indicators reflect the resistance of all types of fluids that are present in the human body, including blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and aqueous humor of the eyes. If their balance is disturbed, this leads to constant discomfort and compression of the surrounding tissues.

If signs of headache are detected, an examination is carried out to determine the following indicators:

• arterial pressure;
• intracranial pressure;
• intraocular pressure.

Hypertension is an increase in blood pressure. If the indicators change slightly, this rarely leads to acute headache and other clinical manifestations. However, from 13 to 15% of cases of pain in the head are the result of a hypertensive crisis, which can also occur in children. Constant filling of the arteries with blood leads to disruption of the mechanisms of regulation of cerebral circulation. The patient develops hyperemia (increased blood flow) to the brain, resulting in headache, nausea, deterioration of visual acuity and even loss of consciousness. The attacks usually end within 24 hours, but they are dangerous because they compress nerve tissue and reduce the supply of oxygen to them.

Increased intracranial pressure is diagnosed in most of the population, including children of any age. This indicator is represented by the resistance of several substances: the blood of the cerebral arteries, the cerebrospinal fluid of the ventricles and the brain tissue itself. It is impossible to measure it at home, and accurate data is obtained only when strictly necessary, using an invasive procedure for determining the speed of cerebrospinal fluid flow. It is worth understanding that minor fluctuations in intracranial pressure do not pose a danger.

Ocular hypertension in children can be a consequence of congenital or acquired diseases of the visual system, as well as injuries or improper selection of glasses and lenses. Pain occurs directly in the eyes, and then spreads along the trigeminal nerve to the temporal and frontal regions. Other symptoms also appear: lacrimation, decreased visual acuity, which are especially noticeable in bright light. If you suspect ocular hypertension in a child, you should consult an ophthalmologist.

Migraines in children

Migraine is an acute headache that occurs especially often in adolescents. It is difficult to establish its causes, and treatment consists of the timely use of systemic analgesics. It occurs in the form of an attack and can intensify at any time of the day. It can be determined by its main characteristics:

• a sharp headache, often one-sided, but can spread to the entire head or to individual areas;
• the duration of the attack is from 5-30 minutes to several hours;
• dizziness, pale skin;
• in some cases - nausea and lacrimation.

Migraine attacks are difficult to distinguish from other headache manifestations. If they occur frequently and last more than 60 minutes, you should seek medical help. Migraines can begin in adolescence and often subside over time. The only way to combat deterioration during attacks is to take painkillers. Only a doctor can choose the appropriate remedy, the most effective and at the same time safe for the child.

Vascular pathologies

Diseases of the heart and blood vessels in young children are often congenital. In adolescents, they may already be associated with poor lifestyle and nutrition, lack of physical activity and excess weight. When diagnosing headaches, the Clinical Brain Institute necessarily conducts studies to exclude the following pathologies:

• heart defects, various types of arrhythmia, heart failure;
• abnormalities in the development of blood vessels that participate in blood circulation in the brain;
• ischemia (insufficient blood supply) to the brain;
• aneurysms and other disorders of the structure of blood vessels;
• cerebral hemorrhages.

Our clinic has all the conditions for a full diagnosis of diseases of the cardiovascular system, including in newborns and children of primary preschool age. It should be understood that such patients are shown a number of restrictions in everyday life that will allow the disease not to progress, so it is important to detect them at an early stage.

Psychogenic headaches in a child

Psychogenic headaches are more common in children over 8-10 years of age, but can also occur at an earlier age. They are associated with emotional stress, conflict situations in the family or team, psychological pressure and any other stressful situations, often combined with insufficient physical activity. Children complain of a pressing headache and discomfort, in some cases nausea or visual disturbances. Attacks can last from several hours to several days; chronic psychogenic headaches are also distinguished. They are less intense than migraines, but can last for days. There is a clear relationship between headaches and the exacerbation of the stressful situation that provokes it.

Spinal diseases

The cervical spine is a mobile and at the same time vulnerable structure. Here are the arteries that carry blood rich in oxygen and nutrients to the brain. They are partially protected by bone fragments of the vertebrae, and blood flow is possible only if their integrity and correct location are maintained. If one of these conditions is violated, the vessels are compressed and blood flow slows down, leading to acute or chronic ischemia. Pain that occurs in the back of the head and can spread to the entire surface of the head can be caused by one of the following changes:

• osteochondrosis - thinning and decreased elasticity of intervertebral discs (the disease is associated with old age, but in practice it is diagnosed also in children and adolescents);
• curvature of the cervical spine;
• protrusion of intervertebral discs - violation of their location, the initial stage of a hernia;
• poor posture, prolonged stay in an unnatural position without movement;
• inflammation or spasms of the muscles of the cervical region.

Diagnosis of the cervical spine is included in the mandatory examination regimen for headaches. Also at the Clinical Brain Institute it is possible to analyze the level of blood circulation in the vessels that pass at this level.

Other reasons

It is important to determine the cause of a child’s headache, since the prescribed treatment regimen will depend on this. It is impossible to do this at home, but the doctors at our clinic are always ready to provide a full, informative consultation for parents. Painful sensations are not always an indicator of serious disorders and periodically occur in healthy children. Their reasons may be:

• incorrect selection of glasses or lenses;
• insufficient lighting while reading or doing homework;
• failure to maintain the recommended distance from the eyes to a book or monitor;
• sleep disorders;
• autonomic dysfunction is a syndrome that can manifest itself during intensive growth of a child.

Constant headaches can also indicate dangerous problems that require immediate treatment. Tumors and hematomas in brain tissue, vascular damage, trauma or infectious diseases (meningitis) - these conditions are rarely diagnosed, but are also taken into account during the examination.

Diagnostic and treatment methods

Diagnosis of headaches in a child at the Clinical Brain Institute uses modern equipment and a team of specialized specialists. When the first symptoms appear, you should consult a pediatrician, and then you may need to consult an ophthalmologist, neurologist, surgeon, or otolaryngologist. To make an accurate diagnosis, a number of examinations are carried out:

• ultrasound diagnostics of cerebral vessels;
• X-ray of the cervical spine;
• MRI of the head is one of the most informative methods;
• electroencephalography - assessment of the functioning of various nervous structures.

Treatment is selected individually. In most cases, the headache goes away with age, but in some patients it persists throughout life. At home, you should provide your child with adequate rest and the required level of physical activity, minimize screen time, and provide adequate nutrition. Drug treatment includes taking analgesics (painkillers), antispasmodics, vitamins and drugs for correcting cerebral circulation. In our clinic you can get more detailed recommendations for the treatment of headaches in children of different ages, depending on the results of the examination.

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Non-childish loads

Even very young children can have headaches. Another thing is that it is more difficult to identify such a symptom in them, because it is more difficult for children to describe exactly what they feel. At the same time, only a few types of headaches manifest themselves with instrumental research methods, so neurologists usually base their diagnosis on the patient’s complaints. For example, if the description includes intense headache, sensitivity to light and sounds, nausea, then with a probability of about 90% we can say that it is a migraine. But children 3–4 years old are simply not able to express such complex sensations in words.

In addition, by the age of 6–7 years, in addition to well-formed speech, children also experience drastic changes in their lives associated with the start of school. The usual schedule and environment change, mental stress increases - such stress often causes headaches.

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