Headaches are a common occurrence in children. According to the American Headache Society, most headaches in children are benign. Still, they can sometimes indicate a significant head problem and be the cause of school absenteeism and frequent visits to the doctor. Most headaches in children can be treated with over-the-counter pain medications. There are several causes of headaches in children.
Head Trauma
Head trauma is a common occurrence in children and one of the most common causes of disability in children, according to the Children’s Hospital of Boston. Head injuries range from mild, with just superficial swelling of the scalp, to severe life-threatening injuries with intracranial bleeding. Persistent headache that does not go away can be a sign of head injury in a child. Another challenge is that children sometimes do not remember or cannot report a head injury, so if a child has a headache, it is important to consider head trauma as a cause of the pain.
Infections
Headaches are a common complaint that accompanies infections in children. Children sometimes identify ear infections as headaches. Sinusitis and other upper respiratory infections can present as a persistent headache. More seriously, meningitis, an infection of the meninges, the tissue that lines the brain and the spinal cord, can cause fever, headache and neck stiffness.
Migraines
Migraine headache are common in children and adolescents. According to MayoClinic.com, migraines in children differ from those experienced by adults in that children often cannot tell when they will have the headache, cannot describe factors that provoke the headache and the headache can affect both sides of the head, rather than one. Children with migraines can have other symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, vertigo, visual loss, loss of sensation and confusion. Most migraine attacks in children last a few hours, not days, and resolve with over-the-counter pain medicines.
Tension Headaches
Tension headaches involve tightness of the muscles of the neck and head. According to the American Headache Society, tension headaches can last from several hours to days, are mild to moderate in intensity and, in contrast to migraine headaches, are not associated with nausea or other symptoms. Tension headaches usually do not interfere with regular activity. Their cause is not very clear, but seem to be associated with changes in the brain’s chemicals and triggered by stress and depression. Pain medicines help relieve the symptoms, but other medicines may be necessary such as antidepressants to prevent the occurrence of the headaches.
