The most common types of headaches during childhood are childhood migraine and tension headacheIn both, family history or genetics and environmental factors play an important role. In fact, half of the children who suffer from the second have suffered stressful circumstances in their immediate environment, or chronic diseases that affect your quality of life.
In the course of V Course of Pediatric Neurology recently held, specialists point out that more than 90% of school-age childrenhave had a headache on occasion; And in the last 30 years, the incidence has only grown. The causes of more headache diagnoses may be changes in lifestyles, but also the increase in consultations for these pathologies; Let's think that headaches as a symptom in children often do not receive enough attention from families, even being considered the invention of children. We wanted to explore this topic a little more:
El headache or headache it is one of the most frequent causes of absence due to illness from schoolAccording to some studies, up to 96 percent of those under 14 years of age have suffered an episode. In a AEP documentWe found that not only has the prevalence increased, as we have just mentioned, but that it tends to be higher with age; On the other hand, it seems that before puberty, it does not appear predominantly according to sex, but from onset of pubertal development, occurs more often in girls.
Causative factors of headaches.
The etiology is varied, but to simplify it: stress-induced emotions can lead to muscle contractions, which are involuntary but tend to persist, triggering the headache. Such emotions can be caused by family or personal problems (already in adolescence), difficulties related to the school environment (pressure for exams, being a victim of bullying, ...). There are other triggers such as inflammation due to infection processes, vasodilation (due to hypoglycemia or arterial hypertension), fatigue, intense physical exercise, intense exposure to sunlight, head trauma, etc.
Before continuing, you need to know that it is convenient to consult a health professional (pediatrician or family doctor), in the case of headaches that are repeated, aggravated, or have increased frequency or intensity. But there are situations that require a visit to the emergency room, such as a sudden onset of pain (and exaggerated intensity), or that appears associated with alterations in the level of consciousness, seizures or fever with a stiff neck.
A child's headache is as real as yours
When a minor has a headache, they need to be heard and cared for, regardless of whether the origin is a physical or emotional problem; whether or not the symptoms are severe. Diseases linked to emotions or the mind are as real as physical ones, neglecting them can lead to unexpected consequences
Infant migraine.
Those who suffer from migraine, know how hard it is to face those episodes of throbbing pain that seems to hammer the sides of the head, they know the fear that the first symptoms give, because they precede hours of suffering. It is a type of headache that can also affect children and adolescents; it is characterized by present associated with vomiting and different discomforts in the digestive system. A characteristic sign of migraine is that it "announces itself" minutes before with light effects perceived by the patient: bright spots or a kind of aura. Sometimes it is difficult to locate the exact causes of pain among these:
- High presence of fats, flours or chocolate in the diet; very unbalanced diet. Skipping meals; insufficient water supply.
- Tiredness and sleep disturbances (sleeping too little or too much).
- Exposure to very loud noises; and intensely to light stimuli, such as those provided by electronic devices.
- School stress; nervousness from other causes.
- Physical injuries
- Side effects of having taken certain medications.
- Excessive exposure to sunlight.
The most common triggers are some smells and having eaten some food
What is a migraine like?
The child will be irritable and bewildered by the characteristic pain. It usually causes vomiting of food taken many hours before; also a hypersensitivity to loud noises and lights. Migraine can also be accompanied by difficulties with having a regular sleep, including muscle weakness and loss of coordination.
They are recurrent attacks that are located unilaterally, although in children it usually occurs on both sides of the head; its intensity, frequency and duration can be variable (between 2 and 48 hours of duration). The pediatrician can diagnose and administer treatment, but can also refer to a specialist in child neurology. The presentation of - at least - five episodes of this type is usually taken into account to be considered a migraine.
Prevention
It involves avoiding triggers, maintaining a very balanced diet, sleep the necessary hours according to age (and go to bed at a reasonable time), avoid the use of electronic devices at night, perform physical activity outdoors, ask the doctor to review ongoing drug treatments, if they are suspected of being a cause.
Tension headache in children
It is a fairly common disorder that can last up to seven days, and consists of mild or moderate pain presented bilaterally, not worsened by daily activities. These headaches do not occur together with vomiting or digestive discomfort, although sometimes they are associated with photophobia or phonophobia (reaction to annoying noise). Its cause is stress caused by exams, other problems in the school environment (bullying, high demands from teachers or family), or family members (frequent disputes, parental separation, or others).
It is an oppressive pain that subsides with rest, and can be controlled by learning relaxation techniques. Maybe we should all take life more calmly (do you remember Valeria's post about Slow Parenting? it is also applicable when children grow up) and in this way we would also help children to express less harmful emotions, and we would avoid tensions.
It can feel like a constriction starting at the nape of the neck
Again he is the specialist who will rule out other causes of pain (such as otitis), will follow the diagnostic criteria, and will establish treatment.
The treatment
It is clear that the pharmacological regimen must be prescribed by a doctor, seemtamol or ibuprofen is usually used, and sometimes (if the pain persists or does not remit) triptans, ergotamine or prophylactic treatments are used. With migraines, it works to provide the patient with a quiet place, free from noise, dark and at a suitable room temperature, wet cloths provide a little relief. Rest helps with tension headaches.
In a post by the specialized magazine "Neurology"We read that not all children require pharmaceutical intervention, and that the limited value of any drug, and its safety / efficacy in children, should always be taken into account.