Most parents are well aware that children get headaches, in fact,
studies have shown that more than 90% of school aged children get some
type of headache. In most cases these are nothing to be worried about,
and a little aspirin or similar type of medications is all that is
needed for treatment. However, there are times when headaches in
children are more severe and it is important for parents to know when to
call the doctor about your child's headache migraine.
How Common Are Child Migraines?
While
most parents are aware that kids get headaches, what they might not
know is that a migraine headache in children is more common than most
people realize. It is estimate that somewhere between 4% and 10% of
children experience a child headache migraine, and research has shown
that approaching 6% of the population has at least on migraine attack
before the age of 15. Many adults with headaches started having their
headaches as children, with 20% reporting the onset before age 10.
Knowing
whether a baby gets a migraine is obviously difficult, but there is
some evidence gathered from parents of older children diagnosed with
migraines that remember the same pattern of behavior in the children
during a migraine attack when the child was younger. This research
suggests that infants as early as 4 months might experience a child
migraine headache. So all of this research suggests that migraines in
children are similar to the statistics of the adult population.
Children are also susceptible to the same types of headaches as adults,
and migraine headaches, tension-type headaches, and cluster headaches
are all documented as possible childhood headaches.
The impact of a
child headache migraine on the lives of adolescents can be as dramatic
as it is for an adult, and may impeded their participation in school or
interfere with their participation in after school activities. For
these reasons you will want to address these issues as soon as possible
and seeking proper treatment.
When to call the doctor?
So,
how does a parent know when to call the doctor about their child's
headache migraine? This article presents some general guidelines you
can use that are recommended by medical professionals. Always err on
the side of caution and when in doubt call your family pediatric doctor
for their recommendations.
If a childs headache symptom continues
for more than a couple of hours you should consult your family doctor.
Also if your child complains of severe pain or any other unusual
symptoms it is best to call your physician immediately. You should also
call your doctor if your child's migraine symptoms include any of the
following: Occur at least once a month Headaches that wake a child from
sleep. Keep him or her out of school
- Personality changes.
- Follow an injury, such as a blow to the head
- Worsening or more frequent headaches.
- Complaints that "this is the worst headache I've ever had!"
- The headache is different than previous headaches.
- Feature persistent nausea, vomiting or visual changes
- Are accompanied by fever, along with neck pain or stiffness
Knowing the type of headache is important for an accurate
diagnosis. To this end your doctor will ask for some basic information
to help them determine the type of headache and the proper course of
treatment. Your family doctor will ask you to describe your child
migraine symptoms in detail to try and determine if there is a pattern
or specific triggers. It is advisable for the parent to keep a headache
diary of each episode to assist you and your doctor with a proper
diagnose.
A headache diary will describe the symptoms of your
child headache migraine, when it occurred, the specific symptoms shown,
how long it lasted, whether there was an aura element, and any causes or
triggers that you might have identified. This information will prove
very valuable for a proper diagnosis. Your can find examples of
headache diaries online that are free to download.
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