Headaches are a common childhood ailment and occur in up to 90 percent of school-age children, according to UpToDate.com. There are many causes of frequent headaches in children. These headaches, while painful, are usually harmless. Parents should contact a doctor if a child wakes up from sleep with a headache and promptly vomits, if the headache occurs with a fever or after an injury, or if it appears to be different, worse or more frequent than usual.
Tension Headaches
A tension headache feels like a band tightening around the head, can last from a half hour to several days and can occur repeatedly or just episodically. These headaches cause mild to moderate pain that usually do not affect a child's activity level. Children usually develop tension headaches after remaining in one position for too long, which strains the neck, shoulder and back muscles. In children, this can occur from too much video gaming and from sitting too long in the same position in school. Stress from school and social situations can also cause tension headaches, according to the Penn State Children's Hospital.
Children who experience frequent tension headaches should minimize stress by avoiding overcrowded schedules. Parents must also make sure their child regularly gets between eight and 10 hours of sleep since fatigue can also trigger tension headaches.
Migraines
Migraine headaches can occur on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, according to the American Headache Society Committee on Headache Education, and can last as long as three days in children. Migraine pain can be severe and may require a child to limit activities as exertion can exacerbate the pain. Migraines are often accompanied by nausea and vomiting, and many report that lights and sounds increase the pain and nausea.
Children between the ages of 5 and 10 sometimes experience blurry vision, dizziness, flashing lights or colored spots in front of their eyes within an hour of a migraine's onset. Migraines occur when the brain's arteries constrict and then widen, and triggered by changes in weather or altitude, certain foods or skipped meals, fatigue, hormone fluctuations and intense physical activity.
Cluster Headaches
Cluster headaches usually start after the age of 10 years and according to Children's Hospital Boston are more common in teenage boys. This type of headache usually occurs in a series that can last weeks or even months. Symptoms include severe pain on one side of the head behind the eye, to the point where one eyelid may appear swollen or droopy. Some parents notice that their child's pupil appears smaller. Congestion, runny nose and forehead swelling are other cluster headache symptoms. FamilyDoctor.org notes that sleep disruption, abnormal hormone levels and hypothalamus gland abnormalities appear to trigger cluster headaches in children.
