Kids get headaches and migraines, too! Many adults with headaches started having them as kids -- in fact, 20% of adult headache sufferers say their headaches started before age 10, and 50% report their headaches started before age 20.
How Common Are Headaches in Children and Adolescents?
Headaches are very common in children and adolescents. In one study, 56% of boys and 74% of girls between the ages of 12 and 17 reported having had a headache within the past month. By age 15, 5% of all children and adolescents have had migraines and 15% have had tension headaches.
Many parents worry that their child's headache is the sign of a brain tumor or serious medical condition, but most headaches in children and adolescents are not the result of a serious illness.
What Types of Headaches Do Children and Adolescents Get?
Children get the same types of headaches adults do, including: tension headaches, migraines, and sinus headaches.
What Causes Headaches in Children and Adolescents?
Children get headaches for many of the same reasons adults get headaches. But, most headaches in children are usually due to an illness, infection, cold, or fever. Other conditions that can cause headaches include
sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses),
pharyngitis (inflammation or infection of the throat), or
otitis (ear infection).
The exact causes of migraines are unknown, although they are related to changes in the brain as well as to genetic causes. For many years, scientists believed that migraines were linked to the expanding (dilation) and constriction (narrowing) of blood vessels on the brain's surface. However, it is now believed that migraines are caused by inherited abnormalities in certain areas of the brain.
Most children and adolescents (90%) who have migraines have other family members with migraines. When both parents have a history of migraines, there is a 70% chance that the child will also develop migraines. If only one parent has a history of migraines, the risk drops to 25%-50%. Children and adolescents with migraines may also inherit the tendency to be affected by certain migraine triggers, such as fatigue, bright lights, and changes in weather.
Some migraine triggers can be identified such as
stress, anxiety, depression, a change in routine or sleep pattern, bright light, loud noises, or certain foods, food additives, and beverages. Too much physical activity or too much sun can trigger a migraine in some children or adolescents as well.
Common causes of tension headaches include striving for academic excellence as well as emotional stress related to family, school, or friends. Other causes of tension headaches include eyestrain and neck or back strain due to poor posture. Depression may also be a reason your child is having headaches.
When tension headaches worsen over time and occur along with other neurological symptoms such as loss of vision, speech problems, or muscle weakness, they can be the sign of a more serious problem, such as:
Hydrocephalus (abnormal build-up of fluid in the brain)
Infection of the brain including:
Meningitis (an infection or inflammation of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord)
Migraine is usually periodic attacks of headaches on one or both sides of the head. These may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity of the eyes to light (photophobia), increased sensitivity to sound (phonophobia), dizziness, blurred vision, cognitive disturbances, and other symptoms. Treatments for migraine headache include therapies that may or may not involve medications.
Most sore throats are caused by viruses or mechanical causes (such as mouth breathing) and can be treated successfully at home. However, a person should be seen by a health care professional if they have a sore throat that has a rapid onset, and is associated with a fever or tenderness of the front of the neck; a sore throat that causes the person to have difficulty swallowing (not just pain swallowing) or breathing; or if a sore throat lasts for more than a week.
A brain tumor can be either benign (non cancerous) or malignant (cancerous), primary, or secondary. Causes and risk factors include age, gender, family history, and exposure to chemicals. Symptoms range from headaches, leg and feet numbness to seizures. Treatment is dependant upon the type and location of the brain tumor.
Sinus infection (sinusitis) signs and symptoms include headache, fever, and facial tenderness, pressure, or pain. Treatments of sinus infections are generally with antibiotics and at times, home remedies.
Stress occurs when forces from the outside world impinge on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life. However, over-stress, can be harmful. There is now speculation, as well as some evidence, that points to the abnormal stress responses as being involved in causing various diseases or conditions.
The common cold (viral upper respiratory tract infection) is a contagious illness that may be caused by various viruses. Symptoms include a stuffy nose, headache, cough, sore throat, and maybe a fever. Antibiotics have no effect upon the common cold, and there is no evidence that zinc and vitamin C are effective treatments.
Hydrocephalus is an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricles of the brain. The fluid is often under increased pressure and can compress and damage the brain. Symptoms of hydrocephalus vary with age, progression of the disease, and individual tolerance to the condition. Hydrocephalus is most often treated by surgery in which a shunt system is inserted.
Middle ear infection or inflammation (otitis media) is inflammation fo the middle ear. There are two types of otitis media, acute and chronic. Acute otitis media is generally short in duration, and chronic otitis media generally lasts several weeks. Seventy-five percent of children in the U.S. suffer from otitis media at some point. Treatment depends upon the type (chronic or acute).
The majority of spiders in the United States are harmless. Two exceptions include the black widow spider and the brown recluse spider. Symptoms of a harmless spider bite generally involve redness, irritation, and pain. alized symptoms of bites from black widow and brown recluse spiders may include: nausea and vomiting, fever, headache, abdominal pain, joint pain, and more. In general, a brown recluse spider bite or black widow spider bite may require medical attention. The information includes pictures of the brown recluse and black widow spiders for identification.
Mumps is an acute viral illness caused by the mumps virus. Symptoms of mumps include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite; followed by swelling of the salivary glands.
Mercury is a naturally occurring element found in water, soil, and the air. Mercury is also contained in some fish, some of the products we use in the home, school, or dentist. Information about sources of mercury exposure, potential health effects, symptoms of exposure, fish that may contain mercury, consumer products that contain mercury, and ways to reduce your exposure to mercury is important for the health of you, and your family.
Before treating a cold, the flu, or allergies with over-the-counter (OTC) medications, it's important to know what's causing the symptoms, which symptoms one wishes to relieve, and the active ingredients in the OTC product. Taking products that only contain the medications needed for relieving your symptoms prevents ingestion of unnecessary medications and reduces the chances of side effects.
Encephalitis is a brain inflammation that causes sudden fever, vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, stiff neck and back, drowsiness, and irritability. Meningitis is an infection that causes inflammation of the meninges that surround the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms of meningitis include high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and stiff neck.
Novel H1N1 influenza A virus infection (swine flu) is an infection that generally is transferred from an infected pig to a human, however there have been reported cases where infection has occured with no contact with infected pigs. Symptoms of swine flu are "flu-like" and include fever, cough, and sore throat. Treatment is generally with the antibiotics oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza).
Childhood depression can interfere with social activities, interests, schoolwork and family life. Symptoms and signs include anger, social withdrawal, vocal outbursts, fatigue, physical complaints, and thoughts of suicide. Treatment may involve psychotherapy and medication.
Separation anxiety disorder is a common childhood anxiety disorder that has many causes. Infants, children, older kids and adults can suffer from symptoms of separation anxiety disorder. Common treatment methods include therapy and medications.
Learn about mitochondrial disease, genetic disease in which include a group of neuromuscular diseases that are caused by damage to the mitochondria Common mitochondrial myopathies include Kearns–Sayre syndrome, myoclonus epilepsy, and mitochondrial encephalomyopathy. Symptoms of mitochondrial disease include heart failure, exercise intolerance, dementia, muscle weakness, movement disorders, deafness, blindness, stroke-like episodes, and more. There is no specific treatment for mitochondrial disease.
Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a congenital disorder of blood vessels in the brain, brainstem, or spinal cord that is characterized by a complex, tangled web of abnormal arteries and veins connected by one or more fistulas (abnormal communications). Symptoms of arteriovenous malformations include seizures and headaches. Treatment of arteriovenous malformations include medication or surgery.
Scarlet fever is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria group A Streptococcus. Symptoms and signs include a rash, sore throat, and fever. Antibiotics are used in the treatment of scarlet fever.
In hypoparathyroidism, the parathyroid gland does not produce enough parathyroid hormone. Causes of hypoparathyroidism include injury to the parathyroid glands, autoimmune disorder association, or may be present ab birth. Symptoms of hypoparathyroidism include: tingling fingers, toes, and lips, brittle nails, dry, coarse skin, dry hair; memory loss, headaches, severe muscle cramps, cataracts, malformed teeth, and convulsions. Treatment of hypoparathyroidism is to restore the calcium and phosphorus to normal levels in the body.
Scarlet fever is caused by bacteria known as
group A streptococci (GAS).
The infection usually starts with a sore throat and
fever, followed within 48 hours by a rash. Less commonly, the infection starts
as a wound infection.
The rash starts on the trunk and spreads to the arms and
legs. It looks like a sunburn, but it feels rough like sandpaper. The rash may
be redder in skin folds. As the rash starts to go away, the skin may peel.
Tongue changes are common during the disease ("strawberry tongue"). The tongue
may first appear white with red bumps and then turn beefy red.
Scarlet fever
is diagnosed by examination of the rash and swabbing the throat to look for GAS.
Blood tests may be done in some cases.
The disease is treated with rest,
fluids, and antibiotics.
Scarlet fever responds well to treatment and the
disease resolves completely in most people. Compl...