Just as adults do, children can suffer from the pain of headaches and migraines. The main difference is a child's ability to articulate his symptoms for the right diagnosis. Knowing the difference between headaches and migraines, and knowing the different types of headaches can arm you to best treat a child complaining of headache.
Headache Types
Children can experience tension, cluster and chronic daily headaches. Symptoms of tension headaches include pressing tightness that occurs on both sides of the head, dull as opposed to throbbing pain, pain that physical activity does not worsen and no accompanying nausea or vomiting. Chronic daily headache describes headaches that last for more than 15 days a month for at least three months.
Cluster headaches occur in groups of five or more episodes, ranging in frequency from one headache every other day to up to eight headaches a day. Symptoms include sharp, stabbing pain on one side of the head and accompanying watery-eyes, runny nose, congestion, or a heightened sense of restlessness or agitation. Children younger than 10 years of age do not commonly experience cluster headaches.
Migraines
About 5 percent of grade-school children experience migraines --- an intense pounding headache that can last for 2 hours or up to three days. (r2) The pain usually manifests in the forehead, the side of the head or around the eyes. In adults, migraines typically affect just one side of the head, but children may experience a migraine on both sides of the head. Migraines can cause sensitivity to light, sound and movement, and may cause nausea or vomiting. Some children see an "aura," a pattern of lines or shadows in front of their eyes as the migraine begins.
Causes
Stress, illness, low blood sugar and head trauma commonly cause headaches, and for some children, headaches are genetic. The preservative nitrate and the stimulant caffeine cause headaches for some children. In rare cases, a problem in the brain, such as a tumor or bleeding, causes a headache, but other symptoms including visual problems, dizziness and lack of coordination accompany these headaches.
Although missing meals and eating certain foods also cause migraines, for the most part, migraines have very different triggers than headaches do. Changes in weather, sleep and sleeping patterns can cause migraines. Stress, fatigue, depression, intense physical activity and hormones can also cause migraines. Unusual odors, bright lights and loud noises also trigger migraines for some children.
Prevention
For many children, staying away from "triggers" helps prevent headaches, and especially migraines. Children may have to eliminate certain foods from their diets, keep to a strict sleep schedule and avoid environments where they may encounter unusual odors, bright lights and loud noises, such as on the Fourth of July. If your child suffers from frequent migraines or headaches, your doctor may prescribe a preventative medication.
A study published in the March 2005 issue of "Headache," the official journal of the American Headache Society, found that like adults, children responded favorably to butterbur root extract for the prevention of migraines. A four-month treatment of 50 to 150 mg of the butterbur root extract reduced migraine frequency by at least 50 percent in 77 percent of the children in the study. Because of possible side effects and drug interactions, talk to your doctor before giving your child any supplement.
Treatment
When a headache or migraine strikes, have your child rest in a dark, quiet room with a cold washcloth on his forehead. You might also try helping your child relax through massage and guided imagery. The American Academy of Neurology recommends ibuprofen for children at least 6 years of age. Acetaminophen works faster than ibuprofen, but the effects of ibuprofen last longer, cites the University of Maryland Medical Center. For children 12 and older, the American Academy of Neurology recommends sumaptriptan nasal spray. (r4)
References
- MayoClinic.com; Headaches in Children; March 2011
- FamilyDoctor.org; Migraine Headache in Children and Adolescents; July 2003
- "Headache"; Migraine Prevention in Children and Adolescents: Results of an Open Study with a Special Butterbur Root Extract; R. Pothmann, et al.; March 2005
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Migraine Headaches --- Treatment Approaches
