Headaches in Kids

[superme80]

My son has headaches from time to time. Nothing to make me worry, but they are very brutal. We do the usual, Kids Tylenol, a little bit of caffeine, and protein. Is there anything else you might recommend? He only gets a few a year, so I don't think I need to get anything stronger from his doctor. Thanks in advance!

 

[sommergirl25]

Water. My daughter started getting them randomly a couple years ago. After lots of dr appointments, we came to the conclusion that she was getting them when not drinking enough water.

 

[low-key]

Im the dont go to the Doctor guy, but headaches in kids scares me

 

[Jennasis]

I got wicked headaches as a kid. So bad that the only thing that helped was laying a quiet dark room with a cold compress on my eyes or head helped. They were assumed to be migraines caused by rapid growth. I still get migraines to this day. IF I take 3 Advil as soon as I feel it coming on I can knock it out, but laying down now only makes it worse.

 

[superme80]

Thanks everyone! Usually the normal remedies kick it within an hour, but I was wondering if there might be anything else I might have missed. And yes water is HUGE! I asked him if he had any, and he said no, so that is probably part of it. Also my kids are super sensitive to heat, so I think the stuffiness in the house might have triggered it. If it persist for more than one day, then I will call his doctor.

 

[sommergirl25]

You might also keep a diary to help you

Thanks everyone! Usually the normal remedies kick it within an hour, but I was wondering if there might be anything else I might have missed. And yes water is HUGE! I asked him if he had any, and he said no, so that is probably part of it. Also my kids are super sensitive to heat, so I think the stuffiness in the house might have triggered it. If it persist for more than one day, then I will call his doctor.

You might keep a diary showing the date and time. Maybe add what he was doing at the time. We had to do that to make sure there wasn’t something specific triggering it and also to determine if she was getting migraines.

 

[ronandannette]

Thanks everyone! Usually the normal remedies kick it within an hour, but I was wondering if there might be anything else I might have missed. And yes water is HUGE! I asked him if he had any, and he said no, so that is probably part of it. Also my kids are super sensitive to heat, so I think the stuffiness in the house might have triggered it. If it persist for more than one day, then I will call his doctor.

I'd probably do some purposeful sleuthing in the direction of trying to identify triggers. Keep notes every time he gets one of as many little details as you can think of - time of day, the weather, what he's eaten, what activities were going on, what his mood was - anything and everything. The information will seem random until you've tracked it over several instances, at which time you may begin to see dots connect. That might allow you to possibly help him avoid the headaches.

You don't mention his age, but if he's beyond toddler-stage, try to coach him on recognizing any pre-cursors. My DS (22 now) started having migraines in puberty and he quickly came to recognize auras (flashes of light in his vision) and his hands going all pins-and-needles. This gave him a chance to get in front of it with meds and lying quietly in a dark room. It helped manage things and blessedly he seems to have outgrown them. Best of luck to you and your little one.

 

[superme80]

Thanks everyone. He is 8, so I will work with him on watching for the signs. I was out with our oldest, so I didn't see when it started, just got the worst of it. He only tends to have them about 3 or 4 times a year, so I don't worry too much. They do tend to happen usually in the summer.

 

[Disney_Alli]

When I started getting headaches it meant I needed glasses. Aside from that water, water, water.

 

[katie01]

Are you and/or your doctor comfortable giving him Advil? If so, I would try that over the Tylenol. Tylenol does NOTHING for my headaches. Advil is a miracle headache cure for me. And I get some reallllly bad ones. I have tried to tough them out and not take anything for them, or sometimes I'll be out and not have Advil with me, and the headaches will progress to the point where I am throwing up from the pain, and in complete agony. When I finally give in and take the Advil, it will start relieving the headache within twenty minutes, and I am thankful all over again for whomever the genius creators are of my most favorite medicine in the whole world lol.

Everyone is different though, my mom says Advil doesn't work well for her headaches, and she uses Aleve (I've personally never used that, so I don't know if it's safe for children or how well it might work for others). I hope you find something to help your son. I get some headaches that are just an annoyance but are bearable, but others that really render me completely incapacitated

 

[barkley]

my son was around 7 or 8 when he started getting sporadic migraines. if you end up having to take your son to a doctor and he's diagnosed with migraines-if you have ANY family history of strokes, no matter how old the person was when it occured-ADVISE THE DOCTOR. this is b/c some pediatric migraine meds would NEVER be prescribed to an adult b/c of the risk for stroke but it's thought to be safe to prescribe them to kids UNLESS there's a family history (my ds had to have an mri before getting prescribed pediatric migraine meds b/c of my family's stroke history).

hope your son feels better-heat is a big inducer of headaches in me too.

 

[Lalabubbles]

We just went to see a neurologist for my daughters HA’s, we learned so much. We are very lucky and only live about 1 1/2 hours from Cincinnati Children’s . She would get HA’s and migraines, but according to the neurologist they are all migraines just different types. They educated a lot on nutrition, sleep, and drinking plenty of water. I had been giving her ibuprofen which didn’t help her, they wanted us to try Aleve instead. Which seemed odd because they are both NSAIDS, but would you believe it, she had a bad migraine and the Aleve worked. Now the dosing is different than normal but we did exactly what they said and it didn’t get nearly as bad as they have been. They also don’t want her sleeping when she gets one, resting for a little while is ok but not actually falling asleep. She also had blood drawn to check for certain vitamin deficiency’s, which can cause migraines. I would talk with your child’s doctor and see what they recommend.

 

[elphaba91]

I would take him to the doctor. I used to get migraines as a kid. My mum had to get Panadol (which is the same as Tylenol) into me ASAP or I would usually end up puking my guts out. When I started secondary school (year 7) my mum mentioned it to the head of my year and she said that her son had them too and was told by a neurologist to take Disprin Direct (a fast acting chewable aspirin). It was honestly life changing for me, although after now having worked in pharmacy I know that we probably should have got a doctor’s okay first.

Otherwise though it is fine to give both Tylenol and a kids ibuprofen at the same time (Tylenol isn’t an NSAID like ibuprofen or aspirin so it works differently), so I would give him both the second he complains of a headache. And yes, definitely get him to drink more water.

 

[C&Jx2]

When I started getting headaches it meant I needed glasses. Aside from that water, water, water.

Same.

I also started getting headaches around 10 from hormones.

 

[RangerPooh]

Both myself and two of our kids get migraines. It's not fun so I feel for your child. Everyone is different, but when my kids comment that they have one I give them children's pain meds (Tylenol), ensure that they have water, and are in a cool place.

For me not much works. Went to a neurologist as a teen, had the MRIs, blood draws, food restrictions to eliminate allergies, nothing.

 

[cabanafrau]

I got wicked headaches as a kid. So bad that the only thing that helped was laying a quiet dark room with a cold compress on my eyes or head helped. They were assumed to be migraines caused by rapid growth. I still get migraines to this day. IF I take 3 Advil as soon as I feel it coming on I can knock it out, but laying down now only makes it worse.

Can I ask if the worsening when laying down is a rather recent change? I'm a lifelong migraine sufferer since I was at least six, with the worst of them being hormone induced. Within the past year or so it's been really miserable when I get them because I cannot do anything, cannot stand light -- but if I lay down the agony gets worse. I can't figure out why and my doc has no answers either.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Besides water (people often don't realize how bad dehydration can be), get an eye exam. When DS occassionally got headaches, we didn't pay much attention-that is, until he failed his eye exam at school.

 

[mom2rtk]

Definitely start with an eye exam. He’s at the age when a lot of kids start needing glasses. And his eyesight could certainly be causing headaches.

 

[nkereina]

I started getting headaches in the 6th grade and it was because I needed glasses. So I agree with the eye exam recommendation.

Now, as an adult, my headaches are from sinus issues related to seasonal allergies. Seasonal allergies can develop at any age and the symptoms manifest differently in every person. They've been particularly bad and high for longer this year where I live.

 

[dclpluto]

Is your child sleeping too much? You said it only happens in the summer time. Is he drinking to much soda on some days than other days not getting any sodas? Does he get headaches when he hasn’t been outside much?