Each parent is familiar with a situation where a child complains of a poor condition and headache. There are many reasons why a child has a headache. Sometimes a careful study of various factors is required in order to help the baby.
Pain always signals ill-being. A healthy child does not have a headache. Therefore, at the first complaints to parents it is necessary to take measures on elimination of a headache. To do this, you need to find its cause.
Why does the child have a headache? What are the main causes of headache and how to treat it?
Headache in a child - the causes of the problem
Migraine - a disease characterized by:
• unilateral headache
• sensitivity to light
• visual and speech impairment
• "flies in the eyes"
• dizziness
• nausea and vomiting
The main causes of migraine are emotional stress, fatigue, prolonged sitting at the computer. In addition, migraine causes some food and heredity.
The disease occurs due to circulatory disorders or due to inflammation of certain areas of the brain, as well as the meninges.
In order to understand why a child's head hurts, it is recommended that parents take notes of all seizures, their duration and intensity. Also, you need to fix the food eaten on the eve of the attack and the medicine drunk.
At home, migraine is treated by observing the right daily routine, when due attention is given to proper rest, stress management and proper nutrition.
Methods of treating migraine at home:
• Consuming a decoction of St. John's wort flowers. It is done like this: 1 teaspoon of raw materials is brewed with a glass of boiling water and infused. Drink slightly sweetened.
• Peppermint oil. This tool is used to lubricate the forehead, temples of the child.
• Relax in a darkened room.
• Meals, which give preference to magnesium-containing foods: millet, potatoes, vegetables, nuts, wholemeal bread.
Sometimes migraines cause food additives, contained in most sweets, which children love so much. Therefore, in order to help the baby during the exacerbation of migraine, it is necessary to give him less sweet.
It is noted that the rejection of meat and meat products greatly facilitates the state of the child in migraine attacks.
If the headache lasts a long time, then a consultation with a specialist is necessary. Based on the diary of headache, laboratory and instrumental research, as well as advice from an oculist and child psychologist, the neurologist will establish the cause and clearly answer the question: why does the child have a headache.
If headache attacks are a frequent occurrence, then the specialist prescribes treatment with medications. As a rule, it is Paracetamol or Aspirin. The latter is used with caution. It is effective only in mild cases.
Paracetamol is used for moderate and severe headaches. And for the treatment of severe attacks are prescribed Naproxen, Ibuprofen, Caffeine.
Headache of tension - a type of headache that is episodic or chronic. A tension headache occurs on two sides and spreads up or down from the neck. The cause of the pathology is stress caused by anxiety or stress, as well as improper body position while working at the computer or lifting heavy objects.
Most often this type of pain occurs in the afternoon, when fatigue takes up. Tension headache is accompanied by sound and photophobia, nausea, increased unpleasant sensations when touching the head.
Methods of treatment at home:
• good rest
• head massage
• warm bath
• tincture of eleutherococcus or lemongrass
• glycine (give 0,1 g 2-4 times a day)
In addition, it is advisable to keep a diary in which the child himself enters all the cases of headache and related events that entailed excitement and emotions.
Other non-drug methods of treating a child’s headache are breathing exercises, in which the baby says to himself, inhaling and exhaling, “inhale”, “exhale”. Such exercises help reduce emotional stress.
Children are encouraged to use “Relax” coloring pages, which include a set of breathing exercises, presented in verse.
In severe cases, the tension headache is treated by specialists. The doctor, after talking with a small patient and studying clinical and instrumental studies, prescribes a comprehensive therapy that includes taking antidepressants and medications that act on the cause of the headache.
It is not recommended to give pain relieving pain medications to a child with constant pain. Not having got rid of the reason of unpleasant sensations, it is not necessary to expect a positive result.
Beam headache - A painful condition characterized by a rapid increase in pain. A bundle or, as it is also called, cluster headache, unlike migraine, leads to increased excitability and mobility.
Symptoms of a painful condition:
• unilateral headache
• watery eyes on the side where the pain is
• constriction of the pupil
• cyclicity of attacks
Deviations in the functioning of blood vessels and the central nervous system are the cause of the occurrence of bundle headache.
At home, seizures are treated with a full rest, warm baths, and stress management. In severe cases it is necessary to consult a specialist who, after an appropriate examination, prescribes inhalation of oxygen, as well as drugs that successfully treat migraine: Imigran, Dihydroergotamine.
A common disease often causes a headache in a child. One of them is inflammation of the paranasal sinuses of the skull (sinusitis). Due to the fact that in the morning hours the sinuses of the nose are filled with pus, there is a headache, which increases if the child tilts his head down.
Pain can arise from one side. Where there is a stuffy nose and there is a discharge from it.
Such symptoms require compulsory consultation with an otorhinolaryngologist. The doctor prescribes the administration of antibiotics, the washing of the sinuses of the nose, preparations aimed at liquefaction and outflow of mucus.
Acute otitis media also causes a headache in a child. As a rule, the disease is accompanied by a runny nose, fever. Before consulting a specialist, you can instill Galazolin in the nose, and in the absence of secretions, pain drops in the ear.
Inside it is recommended to give the child Paracetamol and make a half-alcoholic compress on the ear. It can be done simply: moisten a piece of gauze in vodka or diluted with alcohol, through a pre-made slot, put the child in the ear. Cover the top with cellophane, cotton wool and wrap it with a warm kerchief. Put such a compress for 4 hours.
Neuralgia of the upper branch of the trigeminal nerve causes an intense, one-sided, intensifying headache when touched. To understand the reason why the child's head hurts in this case simply: press down on the temporal region. Strengthening of the painful sensations indicates the presence of the disease.
In this case, the child should be given an anesthetic, make a dry warm compress on the temple and consult a neurologist.
Herpetic eruptions on the scalp can also be a cause of a child's headache. On examination, the elements of the rash are clearly visible, which should be lubricated with Zovirax and seek help from a dermatologist.
Visual disturbances, which include nearsightedness and astigmatism provoke a headache in a child that occurs after classes associated with a strong eye strain. The diagnosis is made by an oculist. He also prescribes vision correction.
Erysipelas of the scalp - One of the infrequent causes of a headache in a child. When viewed under the hair, swelling and redness are clearly visible. In addition, erysipelas is accompanied by fever, chills. In treatment, antibacterial agents are used.
Meningitis - inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. Typically, the disease affects young children. It is characterized by acute headache, fever, vomiting, phobia and sound, lack of appetite, muscle pain. In the presence of elevated body temperature, lethargy, drowsiness, muscle tension - you should immediately consult a doctor.
The disease is treated in the hospital with the use of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, drugs aimed at reducing intracranial pressure.
Encephalitis - inflammatory brain damage due to a viral or bacterial infection. The course of the disease can be acute, subacute, chronic. It begins with a high body temperature, delirium, confusion or loss of consciousness, seizures, headache.
The diagnosis is made by a specialist on the basis of laboratory tests and a clinical picture of the disease.
Treatment depends on what caused encephalitis. For mixed infections, antibiotics are used; for tick-borne encephalitis, tick-borne human g-globulin is used. In some cases, hormone therapy is prescribed.
If there is a suspicion of the disease, you need to seek help from a pediatric neurologist, infectiologist, pediatrician.
Injuries. Parents do not always manage to protect their children from injuries. Having fallen, the kid can receive a bruise of soft fabrics of a head, a brain concussion, a bruise of a brain, fracture of bones of a skull.
The slightest injury is a contusion of the soft tissues of the head, in which an abrasion or a lump is formed at the site of the impact. If a child, crying, calms down and behaves as usual, then there is no reason to call a doctor.
With a concussion of the brain, it is not surprising that the child has a headache. Such a trauma is quite serious. In addition to the headache, it is accompanied by a short-term loss of consciousness, vomiting, cold sweat, drowsiness, lethargy, noise in the ears.
A brain injury is a serious injury. It is characterized by a prolonged blackout, impaired breathing and heart rate.
With fracture of the bones of the skull, signs of trauma do not appear immediately. In this case, it is important to closely monitor the child's condition.
If signs of concussion or brain contusion occur, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Help at home, if there is no obvious damage to the bones of the skull, is to use a cold compress on the sore spot. This treatment reduces swelling and bleeding. But if the bleeding does not stop after 15 minutes after it started, immediately call an ambulance.
After any head injury, the child needs rest. However, in the first hour after the bruise, the baby should not be allowed to fall asleep. Otherwise, it will not be possible to follow the patient's condition and determine the extent of the injury.
If the child is not able to answer simple questions, he has impaired coordination of movements, vomiting has begun - do not hesitate to call an ambulance.
Hormonal imbalance - Another reason why a child has a headache. In the puberty, boys and girls experience hormonal changes. Against its background, exacerbation of chronic diseases, the occurrence of acne is possible. All this is accompanied by a periodic headache.
In such a period, parents need to help a teenager to accept themselves, teach them how to respond to stress, and enable them to have a rest.
Bad habits such as smoking lead to headache, memory impairment, vision, the appearance of irritability. A child can hide his attachments, and parents are puzzled why the child's head hurts.
Overwork caused by mental stress is a common cause of headaches in children. If after rest the unpleasant sensations disappear, then there is no reason for concern. In case of increased body temperature, the inability of the child to raise his head while lying on his back, lethargy, vomiting, it is urgent to seek medical help.
Stress and unrest are one of the causes of headaches in a child. These may not necessarily be negative experiences. Too active emotional communication in kindergarten, school leads to the fact that, having come home, the child suffers from headaches. In this case, sleeping or relaxing in a quiet environment helps.
Nutrition with an abundance of preservatives, flavors, flavor enhancers leads to a headache. In addition, excess vitamin A also can cause unpleasant sensations.
Headache in a child - diagnostic methods
If home methods of treating a child's headache do not help, you should seek help from a pediatric neurologist.
Diagnosis of a headache is as follows:
• examination of the child
• examination of the vessels of the cervical spine and brain
• X-ray of the cervical spine
• ultrasound of the abdominal cavity and thyroid gland
• MRI - magnetic resonance imaging
• electroencephalogram - if necessary
Headache in a child - treatment methods
In the treatment of headache in a child, medicamentous and non-medicamentous methods of treatment are used. It is important to know that children should not use funds intended for adults. For example, Citramon is not recommended for children until 15 years. Instead, it is better to use the children's Nurofen.
With migraines, Paracetamol helps well. If the pain is not too pronounced, give Aspirin with caution.
With beam pain, Sumatripan is used, and tension pain is treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen.
Non-medicamentous methods of treatment include walking, sleeping, and head massage.
Headache in a child - prevention
As a prevention of headaches, the child should adhere to some recommendations:
1. Compliance with the regime of the day.
2. Avoidance of stressful situations.
3. Gradual hardening and exercise.
4. Walks in the open air.
5. Healthy eating.
6. Creating an enabling environment in the home.
6. A good night's sleep.
Every case of a child's headache requires attention. The task of parents to help a child get rid of unpleasant feelings on his own or, if necessary, seek medical help from a doctor.