Children's Headaches
Children's headaches rarely indicate a serious problem. They are more frequent in children whose parents often discuss their own headaches. Children tend to imitate their parents, so it is wise to mention headaches as infrequently as possible.
Emotional tension is the most common cause of headache in children. Often, a parent can discover the cause of stress and help relieve it. Many times, just talking about a problem may help a child. Some children try to do too much, or are pushed by family or school to do too much. Even fun activities can be overdone and cause fatigue and headaches. Encourage your children to talk openly about problems and stress at school. Tension headaches (see page 129) are common in teens, and are generally caused by emotional stress related to school, sports, or relationships. Hunger can also cause headaches
in children. A daily breakfast and a nutritious after-school snack may prevent them. Eyestrain may also cause headaches. Headache is also common with viral illnesses that cause fever, such as colds.
Home Treatment
• Talk to your child. Try to discover the source of the headache and deal with it. Let the child know you care. Tension headaches are sometimes "attention" headaches.
• Play quietly with the child, or read stories together.
• If the headache is still present, have the child lie down in a darkened room with a cool cloth on the forehead.
• With quiet time and extra attention, most tension headaches in children can be managed without pain relievers. If non-drug treatments do not relieve the pain, try acetaminophen. See page 300 for the proper dosage. Avoid creating the pattern of using a pill for every pain. Do not give aspirin to children.
Emotional tension is the most common cause of headache in children. Often, a parent can discover the cause of stress and help relieve it. Many times, just talking about a problem may help a child. Some children try to do too much, or are pushed by family or school to do too much. Even fun activities can be overdone and cause fatigue and headaches. Encourage your children to talk openly about problems and stress at school. Tension headaches (see page 129) are common in teens, and are generally caused by emotional stress related to school, sports, or relationships. Hunger can also cause headaches
in children. A daily breakfast and a nutritious after-school snack may prevent them. Eyestrain may also cause headaches. Headache is also common with viral illnesses that cause fever, such as colds.
Home Treatment
• Talk to your child. Try to discover the source of the headache and deal with it. Let the child know you care. Tension headaches are sometimes "attention" headaches.
• Play quietly with the child, or read stories together.
• If the headache is still present, have the child lie down in a darkened room with a cool cloth on the forehead.
• With quiet time and extra attention, most tension headaches in children can be managed without pain relievers. If non-drug treatments do not relieve the pain, try acetaminophen. See page 300 for the proper dosage. Avoid creating the pattern of using a pill for every pain. Do not give aspirin to children.
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