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Children And Headaches
When you think about someone having a headache, you probably think of an adult. But many kids have headaches, too, and for some of the very same reasons that adults have them.
Children and teens generally experience tension-type or migraine headaches. Among school children ages 5 to 17 in the United States, 20% (10.3 million), are dealing with chronic headaches. Approximately 15% of these kids experience tension-type headaches and 5% are coping with migraines.
Chronic or frequent headaches can be tough to handle — and are even harder to understand when you are young — especially if you do not know anyone else who has them.
It is vital that children not only begin to understand the headaches that they are having, but also that their parents, families, and educators understand them as well. With awareness and adult support, kids who have headaches have fun, do well in school, and lead active lives.
Migraine Headaches
Most kids who have migraines have inherited them. Children who experience car or motion sickness, especially if there is a family history of migraine, will often develop migraines later.
Approximately 5% of kids experiencing chronic headaches will be diagnosed with migraines, and some children have them as early as four years old. By junior high school, most boys who have migraines will outgrow them; on the other hand, migraine frequency usually increases in teenage girls due to hormonal changes.
Migraine is frequently referred to as a vascular headache, because when a migraine occurs, it is the result of blood vessels either constricting or narrowing (vasoconstriction), or expanding or dilating (vasodilation).
Vasoconstriction does not produce pain, but it can temporarily affect vision or balance. When the blood vessels dilate, however, their expansion causes the painful part of the migraine, the headache, and can result in decreased appetite, nausea, and possible vomiting.
In adults, migraine's throbbing head pain usually occurs on one side of the head, but in children it can affect both sides. The migraine is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, dizziness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light and sound, and changes in temperament and personality. A headache's duration varies from individual to individual. But, generally, unlike an adult's migraine, which can continue up to four days, a child's migraine might be as short as one hour or may last for a day or so.
About 15% of kids experience a migraine headache with an "aura." A typical aura is blurred vision, or seeing colored or flashing lights, blind spots, or wavy lines. An aura alerts a migraine sufferer to the onset of a headache, warning the kid several minutes before the pain starts.
A small percentage of migraine sufferers also encounter temporary motor weakness: they may lose their sense of coordination, may stumble, or may have trouble expressing themselves.
What causes a migraine? For most kids, a family history. In some cases, triggers can be identified. Among the most commonly recognized ones are: good and bad stress, a change in routine or sleep pattern, bright lights or loud noises, or certain foods and beverages.
After a formal diagnosis, a doctor's goal is to help reduce or eliminate the symptoms of a migraine and prevent future attacks.
Tension-Type Headaches
Of the approximate 20% of children who experience chronic (daily or almost daily) headaches, most (about 15%) are suffering from tension-type headaches, not migraine headaches. There are two versions of the tension-type headache, episodic and chronic. The episodic headache can occur several times a month, while a chronic headache can occur almost every day.
Episodic tension-type headaches produce a moderate pain, sometimes described as a pressure or band around the head. Episodic headaches often occur in the middle of the day, begin gradually and can last from 30 minutes to all day.
Chronic tension-type headaches, on the other hand, seem to be always present. They usually produce a dull throbbing around the front, top and sides of the head, the constricting band sensation, aches, and soreness. Some kids will be bothered by sleepless nights and will awaken before they want to.
A child's tension-type headache is frequently caused by stress related to family, school or schoolmates, or friends, depression, or insufficient rest. Tension-type headaches do not have the hereditary factor that migraines do, and they are not caused by organic problems or serious diseases.
It is important for kids, their parents and school health care professionals to learn to identify the stressful situations or events that trigger tension-type headaches. Once the triggers are identified, adults can help the child develop ways to cope, or can help either eliminate or reduce some stressful activities.
The first step toward effective treatment is a correct diagnosis by your child's pediatrician or family physician.
Reprinted from the website of the National Headache Foundations
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