Headaches in children

This article discusses headaches in children, which is becoming more prevalent as the school year begins.

As the school year approaches and begins, many parents may start to hear their children complain about headaches.

According to Nick DeBlasio, MD, a pediatrician in Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center's Pediatric Primary Care Clinic, about 10% of school-aged children and 15-27% of teens experience them from time to time.

Headaches can be triggered by a number of different things. Here are the most common causes of occasional headaches in children:

Inadequate hydration. Not drinking enough fluids is one of the biggest causes of headaches. This is especially true when the weather gets warmer and kids become more active outside and lose fluid through sweating. If this is the case, the cure might be as simple as having your child drink more water.

Diet. Does your child eat regular meals? Skipping one meal, like breakfast, can trigger a headache. It's also important to make sure that your child is eating a well-balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. Too much caffeine and certain foods can cause a headache as well.

Sleep. Kids in middle and high school typically need at least 10-12 hours of sleep a night. Not sleeping enough at night can cause a headache. And getting less than 10 hours isn't enough to feel well-rested.

Stress. We all experience stress from time to time, and children and teens are no exception. If your child is under a lot of pressure from school, or experiencing big changes at home like a divorce or a big move, a headache can result.

Vision problems. If your child is unable to see what's happening at the front of the classroom, he might be straining his eyes to see far away, which can result in a headache. A vision test can give you a better understanding of whether or not your child's headaches are being caused by vision problems.

Family history. Your child is more likely to have headaches if a parent gets them as well.

If your child has a headache, try giving her water and over-the-counter ibuprofen. Follow the instructions on the package for the appropriate dosage and do not give it to your child more than three times in a week. If it persists for a few days or worsens, call your child's pediatrician.

Fortunately the majority of headaches in children are not a cause for alarm. However, there are a few instances which require a little more investigation. If your child's headaches have become more frequent or severe, if he wakes up in the morning of the middle of the night from it, or if the headache causes vomiting, it's best to have your child evaluated by your pediatrician.

He or she will perform a physical exam and decide if any tests need to be done. Brain MRIs and CT scans are rarely needed. If your pediatrician suspects a migraine, she might refer your child to a neurologist who is familiar with medications to help prevent and treat them.

And if your child or teen is suffering from chronic headaches and migraines, recent research by Cincinnati Children's found that adding cognitive behavioral therapy to treatment of pediatric migraines improves relief.

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Tips to help headache and migraine pain

This article gives tips that can help lessen pain from headaches and migraines.

Migraines, considered to be the most debilitating of all headaches, affect 12% of the population worldwide and approximately 28 million people in the U.S.  Sufferers frequently live in fear of the next headache onset, experience a disrupted sense of well-being, have a restricted ability to work and can develop family and other relationship problems.

For relief, most turn to over-the-counter pain medication, including Tylenol, Excedrin and prescription medication. However, if taken too often - or incorrectly - for prolonged periods of time, these medications can lead to ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, medication-overuse headaches and even death. 

During June, which is Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, Accelerated Physical Therapy is encouraging headache sufferers to visit their physician and consider physical therapy as an integral part of treatment.

"We see many headache patients in our centers," explains Denise Schneider, PT, head of the Accelerated headache program.  "As specially-trained physical therapists, we are very successful in evaluating and treating headaches and, in some cases, reducing the pain to a point where medical intervention is no longer required."

Pharmaceuticals can play a role in treatment, but physical therapy can enhance and prolong their pain-reducing effects.  Medication sometimes does not resolve headaches caused by mechanical or soft tissue dysfunction or postural deficits.

"There are specific techniques we use, including soft tissue massage, head/space orientation exercises, deep neck muscle exercises, manual traction and joint-specific mobilizations that are highly beneficial," Schneider explains. 

Schneider offers these tips for migraine and other headache sufferers to try at home:

• Eat regular meals
• Get regular sleep
• Exercise regularly
• Avoid known triggers such as food and smells
• Use a good pillow
• Try hot showers or heating pad
• Try cold pack or ice
• Watch your posture
• Drink plenty of water

Schneider recognizes that physical therapy can't treat all headaches.  "It has to have a musculo-skeletal or mechanical component," she explains.  This is also why she recommends a medical evaluation first to rule out causes that may require medical intervention, such as a tumor, vascular disease of infection.

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How to tell if your headache is a migraine

This article discusses how to tell if your headache is truly a migraine or not. Also, it discusses good ways to try and alleviate migraines.

Have you ever wondered why your headache just won’t go away? It could be because you’re not treating it correctly. There are several types of headaches, which we often confuse with one another. Each is marked by different symptoms and characteristics. In order to properly treat a headache, you must be able to identify which type of headache you’re experiencing.

Tension Headache: Tension headaches are the most common type of headache, and as many as 30 to 78 percent of the general population experience them during their lifetime. This type of headache appears periodically and can last from 30 minutes to several days. The pain is a mild to moderate pressure or tightness, which typically doesn’t interfere with daily activities. Over-the-counter pain medications can be used to treat tension headaches.

Sinus Headache: This type of headache consists of constant pressure or tenderness over the sinus areas including the cheekbones, forehead and nose. The defining factor of a sinus headache is the presence of nasal discharge, congestion, facial swelling, ear sensations or fullness and in many cases a fever. Treatments for sinus headaches can include decongestions, pain relievers or antibiotics in the case of an infection.

Cluster Headaches: This type of headache is the least common type of “headache” and its cause is unknown. Cluster headaches reoccur over a period of time. Periods can last for several weeks to months then disappear. Each attack is short lasting, severely painful and typically localized to one side of the head. There are no warning signs for a cluster headache. Treatments are available through your health care professional.

Migraines: Migraines are less common than tension headaches. Migraines can last from four to 72 hours on average. Symptoms of a migraine include moderate to severe pain affecting daily activities, nausea, vomiting, light and sound sensitivity and aura. Aura is a warning symptom that can occur before, during or after the onset of a migraine, consisting of blurred vision, blind spots, flashing dots or lights and other visual disturbances. Aura’s typically last 20 to 30 minutes.

More than 29.5 million Americans suffer from migraines, with women being affected three times more often than men. One of the reasons women are affected more by migraines is because hormone changes serve as a migraine trigger. Many women experience migraines before or during their menstrual cycle.

Identifying a Migraine

The ID Migraine Questionnaire, developed by Dr. Richard Lipton, is a simple three question test used to determine if you’re suffering from migraines or another type of headache. According to his research, if two of the three criteria are present, a migraine is likely 93 percent of the time, and if all three are present a migraine diagnosis is 98 percent likely.

• In the last three months, how disabling are your headaches; do they interfere with your ability to function? (Are you missing work, school and family activities?)
• Are your headaches ever associated with nausea?
• Are your headaches ever associated with sensitivity to light?

Migraines are often misdiagnosed as sinus headaches since they have similar symptoms. According to the American Headache Society Committee on Headache Education, 90 percent of the time a self-diagnosed sinus headache is a migraine. Less than half of all migraine sufferers have received a diagnosis of migraine from their health care provider. If you have headaches that continuously interfere with your daily life and that don’t respond to over-the-counter medicines, you may be suffering from migraines. Visit your health care professional to get the proper treatment.

Strategies for Living with Migraines

Migraine sufferers vary in their sensitivity to specific foods, and triggers to foods may take anywhere from 30 minutes to 72 hours to develop, making them often very difficult to pinpoint, says the National Headache Foundation. Experts recommend keeping a daily journal of food intake and activity can help pinpoint specific triggers. By doing this you may be able to determine a pattern and prevent future migraines. This can be time consuming, but is helpful to both you and your health care professional when determining the right course of treatment for you.

The second strategy is preventing and coping with your headaches through lifestyle change. Several triggers are out of your control including the weather, travel and odors such as cigarette smoke, but many common triggers can be controlled by adapting certain habits. Long Beach Memorial encourages you to focus on the common triggers, such as, sleep, diet, exercise, hydration and stress management.

Sleep – Feeling well-rested may keep a headache at bay. It is ideal to get eight hours of sleep each night. Try not to sleep in too late on the weekends and sleep too little on the weekdays. Make it a habit to go to bed and wake up at regular times all week long.

Diet – Keeping your meals routine also can help you avoid headaches. Delaying or skipping meals can cause your blood sugar to dip, causing the “hungry headache.” To avoid this, you should eat balanced meals throughout the day. The best diet consists of as many fresh foods as possible. You should include a good protein source at each meal/snack (i.e., milk, meat, fish) and should avoid eating high sugar foods by themselves, says the American Headache Society Committee on Headache Education. Alcohol and caffeine both can be triggers for headaches; each should be used in moderation.

Exercise - Exercise can help you fight other headache triggers such as anxiety, poor sleep, sadness, stress, and waist and weight gain. Aerobic level activity leads to an increase in natural body joy and pain control chemicals according to the American Headache Society Committee on Headache Education. However, too strenuous of exercise also can lead to a headache. Moderation is the key. For proper walking techniques visit MemorialCare.org/LiveHealthy.

Hydration - Dehydration is a risk for a headache. Weather is a headache trigger, so hydration is especially important on hot days. Prevent dehydration by drinking plenty of water.

Stress - Stress is the most commonly recognized trigger of headaches says the National Headache Foundation. Anything that increases your emotional and physical stress level can trigger a headache. Factors related to stress include anxiety, worry, shock, depression, excitement and mental fatigue. You can’t always avoid stress, but you can alter the way you respond to it. For more tips on stress management visit MemorialCare.org/LiveHealthy.

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Water can make migraines and headaches less severe

This article discusses how important water is in making migraines and headaches less severe. This could lead to less pain killers being needed to alleviate headaches.

Next time you have a headache, you might be better off leaving the painkillers in the packet and just drinking a glass of water.

Regularly sipping water can reduce the severity of headaches and migraines, reducing the need for tablets.

Scientists found drinking around seven glasses a day was enough to ease pain and improve the quality of life in patients who regularly suffer headaches.

Researchers from the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands, noticed in 2005 that a patient told to drink more for a bladder problem saw his migraines get better.

Lead researcher Dr Mark Spigt and his team recruited more than 100 patients who frequently suffered from severe or mild headaches.

The team instructed them on how to ease their discomfort, including reducing stress, improving sleep and avoiding caffeine.

But half the patients were also told to drink 1.5 litres of water a day for three months, on top of their normal liquid intake.

At the end of the study, patients filled out a questionnaire called the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life index to say how they felt.

The results, published in journal Family Practice, showed those drinking extra water scored far higher on the questionnaire.

The researchers said: ‘We suspect that some headache patients may benefit from drinking more water and it seems reasonable to recommend they try drinking more for a short period of time to see if they experience an improvement.’

Dr Fayyaz Ahmed, of the Migraine Trust, said the benefits of drinking water could be due to the placebo effect.

But he added: ‘However, regular intake of water and adequately hydrating is healthy, and a lot of people feel better.’

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