Headache in children: why does a child have a headache? Common causes of headaches in children, preventive measures Causes of headaches in children

Many people believe that headaches are only characteristic of adults. However, recently, children, especially in adolescence, are susceptible to this disease. If the unpleasant sensations are systematic and bother you for a long time, you need to consult a specialist.

Head injury

The consequences of an unsuccessful fall can appear much later and affect the main organ of the central nervous system, expressed in dizziness, darkening of the eyes, and loss of consciousness.

Infants have swelling in the fontanel area, and the baby may throw back his head and be capricious. Immediately after the injury, it is necessary to give the baby a light massage of the bruise and apply a cold compress there. If this condition is accompanied by paleness of the face, dizziness and nausea, a concussion may be suspected.

Neurological disorders

Unpleasant sensations in the facial area, aggravated by touch and reminiscent of an electric shock, may indicate inflammation of the trigeminal nerve. Pain syndrome as a consequence of pathologies of the cervical spine or viral diseases, for example, mumps, intensifies when turning the head and coughing. With such disorders, warming compresses (salt bags, warm plantain or cabbage leaf lotions), as well as UHF therapy, help. Painkillers provide only temporary relief.

Mental disorders

The connection between the emotional state of the baby and his well-being has long been noticed. Tension, stress and conflicts in the family are common causes of painful sensations.

A state of overstimulation caused by active and noisy games before bedtime can trigger headaches. In this case, light herbal-based sedatives, for example, peony tincture, help.

It is necessary to teach the child to cope with his emotions, control behavior, and manage fears. Show him some breathing exercises and ways to relieve tension.

Poor nutrition

Large amounts of nitrites, preservatives, sodium chloride and nitrite, and tyramine consumed in food cause constriction of brain vessels. As a result, headaches in a child appear repeatedly and are accompanied by:

• nausea;
• vomiting;
• loss of sense of balance;
• upset stomach.

Below is a list of foods that should be excluded from your child’s diet:

• smoked sausage, sausages;
• some types of cheese;
• yeast baked goods;
• nuts;
• chips, fast food;
• sweet sparkling water;
• margarine;
• coffee and energy drinks;
• chocolate bars;
• chewing gum and jelly candies;
• ketchup and mayonnaise.

Sometimes the causes of throbbing headaches are improper or inadequate nutrition of the mother during pregnancy, as well as a lack of vitamins.

Vascular diseases of the brain

Jumps in blood pressure, including primary hypertension, can cause vascular spasms and circulatory disorders of the main organ of the central nervous system. This condition occurs due to sudden changes in weather conditions, hereditary predisposition or insomnia.

The first aid method is to take tea with chamomile or mint, which has a mild sedative effect. Symptoms that are systematic in nature require medical consultation.

Migraine

This neurological disease is transmitted through the maternal line and is due to insufficient production of serotonin. The pathology is characterized by unilateral throbbing headache. In most cases, the attack is accompanied by nausea and loss of balance.

To avoid developing migraines, you must follow the following recommendations:

• spend more time in the sun;
• include foods rich in vitamin B, calcium, and magnesium in your diet;
• do a light head massage;
• drink a drink made from viburnum or black currant;
• Take fresh potato juice or St. John's wort decoction 2 times a day.
  

  External stimuli

Loud sounds, bright lights or strong smells, as well as lack of fresh air, have a negative impact on the child’s nervous system.

Babies cannot talk about painful sensations and become capricious and often cry. To avoid this, parents should take care of comfortable conditions for their children: do not turn on the TV loudly, avoid using aromatic lamps with oils that have a strong smell, and also dim the lighting in the room.

Clinical manifestations

Vascular headache in autonomic dysfunction syndrome

Cephalgia in a child can be caused by a disorder of the ANS. Jumps in blood pressure, stretching of the walls of blood vessels, as well as disruption of their tone lead to excess blood flow into the main organ of the central nervous system.

Often, headaches of a vascular nature disturb in the morning and are accompanied by swelling of the lower eyelids, nasal congestion, sore throat, redness of the capillaries, and dilated vessels of the fundus.

Often, vascular disorders are associated with an increase or decrease in blood pressure. Hypertension causes a feeling of pressure in the head, nausea, and loss of balance. Hypotension is expressed in pulsating cephalgia.

Increased or decreased intracranial pressure

Intracranial hypertension is characterized by a bursting headache. This is facilitated by an increase in the volume of fluid in the brain, which puts pressure on the membranes of the main organ of the central nervous system and contributes to the compression of blood vessels. The pain may intensify with changes in position and turns of the head and is accompanied by gagging.

With reduced intracranial pressure, the baby may complain of blurred vision, darkening of the eyes, and nausea. Sometimes there is an increase in heart rate, frequent yawning, and coldness of the extremities.

Cephalgia in infectious diseases

Unpleasant sensations in the head area caused by ARVI are accompanied by the following symptoms:

Infectious diseases include:

• flu, colds;
• angina;
• measles;
• rubella;
• viral mumps (mumps);
• scarlet fever;
• diphtheria;
• polio;
• chicken pox.

If alarming symptoms appear, you should consult a specialist. Only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis.

Tension headache

This type of cephalgia is considered the most common among younger schoolchildren. The causes of the disease are long-term studies, chronic stress, overwork, increased eye strain, excessive mental effort, as well as tension in the spine caused by an uncomfortable posture at a desk.

The nature of the pain is squeezing, tightening. The duration of the discomfort ranges from half an hour to a week. At the peak of the attack, nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and loss of appetite may occur.

Migraine

In rare cases, the neurological disease develops at an early age. Typically, the first symptoms are observed in adolescents and are expressed in a unilateral throbbing headache, which intensifies under the influence of excessive physical exertion. This condition is accompanied by increased sensitivity to external stimuli: bright light, loud sounds or strong odors. Debilitating sensations can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting and last from 4 to 72 hours.

The causes of migraine in childhood are often:

Meningitis

This is a terrible disease that occurs as a result of inflammation of the membranes of the brain. Factors causing the disease are bacterial and fungal infections, viruses.

The disease begins suddenly: an apparently healthy baby suddenly rises in temperature to 39-40 degrees, accompanied by nasal congestion, but without a runny nose or any discharge.

Infants become lethargic, capricious, often cry and cannot calm down even in their mother’s arms.

Older children experience intense headaches. The condition is aggravated by vomiting, independent of food intake. A pink rash on the body, in the center of which black dots are visible, indicates damage to the internal organs. In this case, the child requires immediate hospitalization.

With meningitis, the symptoms can be described as bursting, spread all over the head, with increased sensitivity to touch. Tension and soreness in the muscles of the back of the head are often observed, making it difficult for the baby to tilt his head forward.

Another sign of meningitis is involuntary bending of the legs in a lying position when tilting the head.

Trigeminal nerve damage

When the trigeminal nerve is compressed or irritated, an excruciating shooting pain appears, localized in the jaw area and intensified by the slightest touch. Unpleasant sensations are constant or periodic. The disease can be suspected based on the following signs:

• facial redness;
• tearfulness;
• numbness or sensitivity in the lips, eyes, or nose;
• involuntary twitching of the facial muscles.

Chronic headache

Cephalgia that occurs more than 15 days a month is called chronic. Basically, there are several types of this disease, including migraine, tension headache, and cluster cephalgia. In most cases, malaise is accompanied by increased fatigue, weakness, irritability, and sleep disturbances.

Treatment of the chronic form of the pathology depends on the diagnosis and provoking factors. Often, taking medications eliminates the symptoms, but not the disease itself. In rare cases, the chronic course of the disease is provoked by regular use of medications.

Children prone to this form of cephalalgia must be registered with a neurologist.

Survey

When visiting a doctor with a complaint about a headache in a child, parents need to describe his condition as accurately as possible. The correctness of the diagnosis will depend on this. The specialist may ask the following questions:

1. When did the pain first appear?
2. Were there any head injuries?
3. How often does discomfort occur?
4. What is the nature of the pain?
5. Where is the pain syndrome concentrated?
6. Does the baby's emotional state change before an attack?
7. Do you get tired at school, what stresses are you more susceptible to (for example, do you attend a sports section)?
8. Is the headache accompanied by other symptoms?
9. Does your son or daughter have a good appetite, what foods predominate in the diet?
10. Does your child complain of insomnia?
11. What relieves pain?
12. Do the parents suffer from any diseases?

Consultations with a therapist, neurologist, ophthalmologist and otolaryngologist are necessary. In some cases, the following are prescribed:

Dangerous symptoms

Below is a list of manifestations that you should pay close attention to:

• intense headache that began suddenly;
• changed nature of unpleasant sensations;
• increased discomfort in the morning;
• disturbances of consciousness and memory, deterioration of brain activity;
• nausea, vomiting;
• painful sensations that appeared some time after a head injury;
• anxiety, nervous agitation, causeless crying in infants;
• dizziness, loss of consciousness;
• violations of movement coordination;
• regurgitation and poor sleep in infants;
• fatigue, lethargy, hair pulling (signs are observed in children 1.5-2 years old).

Treatment

The following recommendations will help improve your child’s well-being if alarming symptoms occur:

A throbbing headache requires a comprehensive treatment approach that includes the following:

• manual therapy;
• physiotherapy;
• taking a bath with sea salt;
• acupuncture.

If your doctor has prescribed a drug, you should under no circumstances replace it with another drug. Most often, children are prescribed:

• "Paracetamol";
• "Ibuprofen";
• "Nurofen";
• "Nimesulide".

Prevention

To avoid the development of headaches in a child, the following recommendations must be followed:

Bottom line

The causes of headaches in children can be different. They can only be identified on an outpatient basis. However, it is important to remember that a lot depends on the parents themselves. To avoid serious consequences, it is necessary to monitor the health status of your children and consult a doctor in a timely manner.

When a child complains of a headache due to a fever, high fever or a cold, parents usually do not raise any questions. Everything is clear here: the doctor will come, prescribe treatment, and the headache will disappear along with all the symptoms of the disease. But there are times when a baby complains of a headache for no apparent reason. Is this just a whim or a serious complaint? Do I need to call a doctor? Why does a seemingly healthy child suddenly have a headache? For some reason, it is believed that children (unlike adults) cannot just have a headache. This is one of the most common parental misconceptions.

In fact, headaches are a problem for all ages. It can occur in young children, and in those who are well over twenty. According to the international classification, headaches are divided into 13 main groups and 162 types. And, oddly enough, many of them have nothing to do with the head. Of course, it is impossible to consider each type separately, but there are several main reasons that provoke severe headaches for no apparent reason. The main thing here is to fight not with pain, but with its real root cause.

Vascular disorders in children

One of the most common vascular diseases in children is hypertension. The term "hypertension" comes from the Greek words "hyper" and "tonos", which literally translates as "excessive" tension. Its cause is a violation of blood circulation in the brain. With sudden surges in pressure, temporary or permanent narrowing of blood vessels occurs, which complicates the blood supply to various organs. As a result, almost all body systems and, especially, the brain suffer. The diagnosis of hypertension is made in cases where blood pressure increases systematically (more than three times within a month). Anything can provoke the development of hypertension: pressure drop, weather factors, heredity, sleep disturbances, etc. Therefore, adequate sleep and a healthy lifestyle are very important for the prevention of hypertension.

Lifebuoy
Before giving your baby a life-saving pill, try just taking him for a walk in the fresh air. Also good for relieving this type of headache are soothing tea with mint or chamomile, beet juice (1/3 cup 3-4 times a day), infusion of meadow clover flowers, hops, cloves and geranium (pour 1 tablespoon with a glass of boiling water, leave 1 hour, take 1/4 cup 3 times a day). In mild forms of hypertension, the headache goes away as quickly as it appears. In more complex cases, drug intervention cannot be avoided. Advanced hypertension can in the future lead to the development of changes in the vessels and the organs they supply.

Poor nutrition

In children under five years of age, headache attacks often occur after eating certain foods. For example, processed meat products (sausages, sausages, semi-finished products) contain special preservatives - nitrites, which cause vasoconstriction. And if for an adult their dosage is insignificant, then the child’s body has not yet learned to process these preservatives. Additionally, the chemical tyramine, found in cheeses, yeast and nuts, can cause headaches. Also, headache attacks can be provoked by an overdose of vitamin A and nutritional supplements containing sodium nitrite, aspartame and sodium chloride. In addition, it is very important how the mother ate during pregnancy. If a woman is malnourished while expecting a baby (especially in the first and last trimester), this leads to low blood sugar, which negatively affects the baby's brain function. And from the first days of life, such a baby may suffer from severe headaches.

Lifebuoy
When the underlying cause of headaches is poor diet, attacks are usually accompanied by severe vomiting or stomach upset. Let your baby drink as much as possible. In this case, a cold infusion of birch leaves will help relieve headache attacks (pour 1 tablespoon of leaves with a glass of boiling water and leave for 2 hours). It is also useful to give your baby green tea with the addition of peppermint, St. John's wort or elderflower. If your child is prone to headache attacks, it is very important to eat at least five small meals a day and avoid foods that contain too many carbohydrates. And vitamins and nutritional supplements should be used only as prescribed by a doctor, and in no case exceed the indicated dosage.

Comment on the article "Doesn't have a headache... or 7 causes of childhood headaches"

A 6.5 year old child, we are studying with a speech therapist... so during classes, when he starts doing exercises, when he needs to blow on the tongue, his head suddenly starts to hurt... it stops hurting immediately after the end of blowing air.. Tell me in which direction look for the reason?

Hello. Daughter is 2.6 years old. We have headache attacks. Before the attack, she grabs her head and screams that her head itches. We visited a neurologist and were prescribed 3 types of tablets. Pantagam 1/2 tablet 3 times a day. Diakarb 1/2 - 3 r. In a day. Cinnarizine 1/2. 2 times a day. We've been drinking it for 2 days now. During the day, the attacks became quieter and less frequent. And before bedtime they become more frequent, both before daytime sleep and before nighttime sleep. What could it be? And should we do an MRI?? And our pediatrician diagnosed us with a sore throat. But my daughter doesn’t complain about her throat and she doesn’t have a fever.

Zhanna, firstly, pull yourself together and not get upset, and secondly, take the child to the doctor. After all, your son may have VSD. We went through this last year, when my daughter was 13, we received just such a diagnosis. The doctor prescribed Eltacin. We have already written about him below. The drug is effective, because after the course my daughter stopped complaining about headaches, and her behavior became normal, but recently she became very hysterical. And of course, you shouldn’t forget about the correct daily routine and give your child plenty of rest.

Total 17 messages .

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Deputy Director of the Scientific and Practical Center for Pediatric Psychoneurology of the Moscow Department of Health, pediatric neurologist, Doctor of Medical Sciences

Petrukhin A.S.

Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor Ivashkin V.T.:– We very smoothly moved from acute or stress insomnia to tension headaches in children, since Andrei Sergeevich Petrukhin had already introduced himself in the discussion. Please, Andrey Sergeevich.

Professor Petrukhin A.S.:– It must be said that there are three problems regarding headaches in children, despite the fact that in the 21st century neurology has achieved such success that, unlike those sciences that existed before, which said that the etiology is unknown, the pathogenesis is unclear, the specific there is no treatment. Now in neurology, almost one hundred percent diagnosis can be established using various research methods. But there remain three problems that are vague. They are still unclear and very difficult to diagnose and understand. And in particular these are headaches, dizziness and tics. There is a lot that is still unclear here. And it must be said that the headaches section is a section that is not based on any physical research methods, most often visualization ones. They serve, rather, to exclude and confirm the symptomatic nature of headaches. That is, a disease is, say, a brain tumor or an aneurysm, which manifests itself as headaches. Here we are now taking this section - only pure headaches.

In general, pain in children occurs in a special way. And there is an ancient Greek saying that pain is the watchdog of health. But our outstanding scientist, a physiologist who studied pain, said the following phrase: health lies in the physiological muteness of the internal organs. Here’s from Romain Rolland: “An adult, when he suffers, can reduce his pain by mentally placing it in a certain part of his body, as if fencing himself off from it, defining boundaries. But the child does not have this deceptive means. His first encounter with pain is more tragic and deeper. It seems to him limitless, like his very existence.” Therefore, headaches, one can only imagine what kind of suffering a child is often exposed to.

And this slide shows those pains that do not have any pathological influence and which are normally observed in children. These are stomach pains. These are “growing” pains in the bones, when a child cries and complains in the morning, he, as a rule, even points with his hand to the zones of the metaphysis of the bones, the transition zones, where the bone growth zone is: this is the ankle, under the knee. These are pains that go away with growth and do not require any treatment. And 15-20% of headaches are also physiological. They occur because the growth and lengthening of blood vessels is not consistent. Such hemodynamic age-related physiological changes occur. There is no need to attach importance to this and they, as a rule, go away with age and do not require specific treatment. But it must be said that, of course, when a child complains, one cannot help but attach importance to this, because the child does not have social experience, so he cannot feign any pain. Especially frequent headaches reduce his quality of life, affect mental and physical abilities, and disrupt relationships with adults and peers.

And headache (definition) is pain and discomfort localized in the head area. These sensations are always subjective. Therefore, anamnesis plays a very important role in diagnosing headaches, a very detailed anamnesis: when it occurs, where it occurs in the head, how long they last, with what intensity.

Here is the international classification of headaches. These include migraines, tension headaches, cluster (or cluster) headaches, that is, chronic paroxysmal hemicrania, and this also includes Horton's syndrome, which subsequently leads to narrowing of the palpebral fissure, development of blepharophimosis, and constant lacrimation. And various headaches not associated with structural damage, but associated either with trauma, vascular disorders, intracranial processes, not of a vascular nature, for example, the residual phenomenon of some inflammatory processes; associated with the use of chemicals or psychoactive substances, which is very important now, because you can fight and fight, and then in the end you find out that the child smokes marijuana or takes drugs that cause headaches. Headaches associated with metabolic disorders. And facial pain due to pathologies of the skull, neck, eyes, ears, paranasal sinuses, from teeth or diseases of the oral cavity or other structures of the face and skull. As well as cranial neuralgia, pain in the nerve trunks and referred headaches. This is what we mean called the Ged or Zakharyin-Ged zone. And Zakharyin described it, and for the first time the English doctor Ged described it. And he wasn't even a doctor. He was a physiologist. For liver disease, this is the crown; for the lower lobe of the lungs, this is the parietal region. Such hyperpathic sensations in the head. Well, there are in other structures.

Here the reasons are shown, and note that the primary headache is 92%, of which 54% are tension headaches. And migraine takes up 38%. Migraine, as a rule, is, firstly, a hereditary disease. It is transmitted through the maternal line; as a rule, the headache is more intense for the mother and is usually more intense for the son. And the phenomenon of anticipation is also present, although migraine is not a disease of gene expansion. But the earlier and stronger the headaches, the earlier and more severe the headaches occur in the child. And boys suffer more.

And among schoolchildren aged 7-16 years, 39% of children complain of headaches, and 52% are children aged 10 to 12 years. And migraine is observed in 21%, and tension headaches - almost 80%.

Headaches are caused by irritation of intracranial or extracranial receptors, sensory branches of the cranial nerves and the first three cervical roots of the spinal cord. The pathogenesis is different. Extracranial pain receptors are located in the skin, subcutaneous tissues, muscles, tendons, tendon helmet (in the aponeurosis), vessels of the soft integument of the head, in the periosteum of the skull, the oral and nasal cavities, and the muscles of the nose and middle ear. And intracranial receptors are located, firstly, in the membranes. The brain itself is painless, you can scoop it out with a spoon and it does not respond in any way. There were even cases during the war of wounded people picking out their brains with their fingers. Well, the dura mater, and the sinuses especially, are equipped with very dense pain receptors. And also the arteries themselves, like the heart; by the way, the muscle itself is painless during a heart attack, but the vessel hurts. And these pains are caused by irritation of vascular receptors in the meningeal arteries, in the dura mater of the sickle and tentorium. Especially in the area of ​​the tentorium: there are terrible headaches, and, as a rule, they are combined with meningeal symptoms: neck muscle tension, Kernig’s sign, and so on.

Here, much attention is paid to complaints: the duration of occurrence, frequency, localization, irradiation (where these pains spread, where they radiate), nature, duration, beginning and end, provocation, precursors, accompanying symptoms, the presence of chronic diseases. For migraines, for example, there are very important provoking factors. These are the smells of perfume or tobacco, or certain floral smells. Frequency: it is paroxysmal, develops extensively, that is, from low to peak, and ends, as a rule, with vomiting. And vomiting brings relief, by the way. Consciousness, intelligence, mood, blood pressure, muscle tension (pericranial, upper shoulder girdle), neurological edema, presence of meningeal or focal symptoms. For example, with Horton's syndrome (tufted), it is important to identify swelling and hyperesthesia of the skin. And with tension headaches, this is tension in the scalp muscles associated with mood.

Therefore, the first and still considered classical approaches for the treatment of tension headaches are approaches with the prescription of antidepressants, because this is often combined with depression and mood disorders. Therefore, they often occur in women. But among children - girls suffer more often - they are very responsible ones, who are waiting for some kind of trouble, a catch, failure in answering at school, who are bullied by their peers, which is repeated. And for some reason this system is misanthropic in our country. Once upon a time it developed in schools and the class struggle degenerated into a struggle with each other. Now we have a very difficult situation at school. And we will have to approach this at some point. And here additional methods, as I told you, they cannot determine what kind of headache it is. They can only allow us to exclude tumors: this is when there is swelling in the fundus, vasodilation, venous stagnation. X-ray of the paranasal sinuses can reveal an inflammatory disease. Blood tests suggest that this headache may be a symptom of rheumatic or some other process, and CT and magnetic resonance imaging can detect some intracranial processes, tumors, and can also detect vascular and malformations.

And so I had a completely wild case. I gave a forensic medical report on the medical history. In one of the regions close to Moscow, where a girl was treated for headaches for a long time and was even diagnosed with epilepsy, which was not the case, and she died suddenly at home. Moreover, she had a heart defect. And, of course, this disturbance of blood circulation, disturbance of blood oxygenation, of course, led to the occurrence of chronic headaches. Therefore, a pediatrician must know neurology, at least the basics, and a neurologist must know the basics of pediatrics.

Clinical manifestation of headaches. The child is less active, capricious, easily irritable, puts his head on the sofa, on his side in bed. Forced position of the head means you need to think more about the tumor. Children often hold their hand on the sore spot, clearly show the place where the headache hurts and stroke the corresponding part of the head, pull their hair, and if you touch the hair yourself, you can find points of hyperesthesia. Older children keep their heads still; instead of turning their heads, they turn their whole body, with their whole body. And now children from two years old even indicate where their head hurts, and children from 6-7 years old describe the sensations in detail.

And here are the phenomena of headaches in young children according to Hurthl. This is facial expressions: a serious facial expression, eyebrows knitted, a bitten or twisted mouth. Pantomime: trembling or unusual position of the head, pressing on a sore spot, biting a finger, lip, grinding teeth. Vegetative symptom: pallor or redness of the face, cold fingers, cold sweat, goose bumps. Also auditory: persistent screaming, crying, sobbing and suppressed coughing. And in particular behavior: decreased activity and interests, increased irritability, aggressiveness and loss of appetite. Vomiting can occur in children.

Migraine - I have already said - is a paroxysmal condition, manifested by attacks, mainly in the orbital-fronto-temporal region, or less often bilateral localization: in the forehead and occiput. Attacks of vomiting, accompanied by nausea, photophobia. The recurrence of the attack and hereditary predisposition are characteristic.

Migraine - the prevalence is 12-15% of the population, children under six years old suffer from migraine in one percent of cases, at the age of 10-12 years - 4.5%, and from 15 years old - 5.3%. Up to the age of six, it is more common in boys, at the age of 7-11 equally in both boys and girls, and after 18 years in boys, attacks regress and long-term remissions are noted.

Tension headaches are actually the topic we moved on to. Occurs in children in 70-80% of all cases of headache. Emotional stress associated with studying, excessive workload with additional activities, uncomfortable work place, eye strain, family conflicts, excessive parental care, lack of physical activity or excessive physical activity. These pains can usually occur after a long period of stress. Here the pathogenetic feature is the immaturity of the child’s psychological defense mechanisms, which causes the appearance of the disease under minor, from the point of view of adults, stress. Tension headaches often occur in children who are shy, dissatisfied with themselves, and poorly adapt to a new environment. They experience outbursts of stubbornness and whims, which are in the nature of defensive reactions against the background of dissatisfaction with themselves.

For some reason, the parents themselves don’t work ten jobs, but in our country it’s typical that a child has to play music, sports, take additional foreign language classes, and sit another eight hours at school. And they don’t get any smarter. I haven’t seen either the Pushkins or the Dostoevskys lately.

Recently, such works have appeared - and there are already quite a large number of them - on the role of magnesium in the pathogenesis of tension headaches. Magnesium is an intracellular ion that is not observed in free form. Therefore it is very difficult to research. And low magnesium levels are important in the pathogenesis of headaches, as well as seizures in newborns. Low serum magnesium levels are observed in patients with tension headaches and migraines in the interictal period. Studies have reported the positive effects of magnesium supplementation in patients with different types of headaches. Well, this is an article that shows the role magnesium plays in muscle tone and helmet tension. Here are the types of tension headaches: infrequent episodic, frequent episodic, chronic headaches with tension of the pericranial muscles and chronic headaches without tension of the pericranial muscles.

Tension headaches in children are characterized by: bilateral pain in the frontotemporal or frontoparietal regions, sometimes with a feeling of pressure on the eyes. The pain can be constricting, squeezing, like a helmet, pressing in nature, and not intensify from physical activity. Associated symptoms: sound fear, photophobia, nausea, increased pain when touching the scalp and hair, sleep disturbance. They stop on their own or when falling asleep. Children after seven years old can talk about their feelings. With long-term chronic tension headaches, if girls run in high-heeled shoes, they feel a sensation in the head, because prolonged tension of the scalp causes a violation of the venous outflow from the cranial cavity and then such dyshemia occurs - this is an overflow of the venous sinuses, and then are also head receptors. And such a severe headache appears.

For headaches, magnesium preparations are used and can be used as ex juvantibus therapy, because magnesium cannot be overdosed. The more you introduce it, it will simply be eliminated; it will no longer enter the cell. And vitamins, also non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; in more severe cases and chronic headaches, magnesium preparations are combined with psychotropic drugs, such as the anti-anxiety drug atarax; and antidepressants, usually recently; Well, tricyclics can be used, but they are still a bit heavy. And we have a big problem with serotonin reuptake inhibitors, because of all of them, perhaps, only Zoloft is approved for children over the age of six. And in younger children it is even worse that we cannot use these drugs, so it is recommended (today the previous lecturer was asked a question) here is Teralen, French. Unfortunately, we don’t supply it in drops, apparently because it’s very cheap. And Teraligen is difficult to dose because it comes in tablets. Phenibut is also a drug, the only nootropic drug that reduces tone and which calms. And the combination is also with bellataminal, an ancient drug. There is no need to joke or smile here. The fact is that belladonna, according to the principle of evidence-based medicine, is one of the few drugs that, according to the criteria of evidence-based medicine, work effectively.

Well, dosage forms of magnesium. There are ampoules and tablets that contain 470 milligrams of magnesium lactate in each tablet. And there are also ampoules of magnesium citrate, magnesium citrate is also available in tablets, containing approximately 100 milligrams of magnesium.

Non-drug treatment of headaches. It is very important not only to examine the child, but also to find out the family situation. As with tics and tension headaches, especially find out what the situation is in the family. Of course, the parents won’t tell, and we can’t be in their house to find out what the situation is like there. This is the principle of such declarative education: where did you sit, why did you stand up, why are you standing like that, not like that. The child cannot answer, but internally he is all collected and tense from such boorish and rude upbringing. And it has long been noticed that the declarative principle of education is absolutely ineffective. An example of our society is that for 73 years we were educated in party committees, we went through the school of Marxism and Leninism. As soon as it happened, everyone immediately ran away and everyone forgot about communism. Eliminating family traumatic factors is the first important step that must be taken, because you can treat with medications as much as you like, but if there is an abnormal environment at home, there will be no effective therapy. Maintaining a daily routine with sufficient sleep, walks in the air, a combination of mental work with physical activity, water procedures, a contrast shower after school, a warm shower, a bath, swimming in the pool, reducing time spent watching TV and computer games, which also lead to excessive mental stress .

Headache in children is a fairly common, but quite difficult symptom to evaluate. There are functional and symptomatic headaches. For symptomatic headaches, the cause can be determined. With functional headaches, it is most often not possible to identify the structural disorders that caused the condition.

Often a headache is accompanied by increased irritability or crying of the child. Peaks of headaches in children usually appear at six to seven years of age (during adaptation to school) and at thirteen to fifteen years of age (during puberty). At school age, a child’s complaint of headache can be considered reliable.

Causes of headaches in children

To find out the true cause of a headache, adult observation of the child’s behavioral characteristics is of great importance. If a child complains of a headache, then it is first necessary to clarify the location of the pain (in the parietal, temporal, occipital, frontal regions, in the area of ​​the eyes, nose, ears). Preschool children with headaches pull their hair and squeeze their heads with their hands. The characteristics of the pain are no less important: gradually increasing or sudden, dull or sharp, passing on its own or only after taking sedatives or painkillers. Parents should notice whether the child's headache is accompanied by redness or paleness of the face, agitation or lethargy, weakness, vomiting, nausea, and dizziness. The appearance of severe headaches in a child can be associated with physical activity, a stressful situation, taking any medications, traveling in public transport, or overwork.

A huge number of diseases that can be accompanied by headaches can be grouped into three main groups - general diseases of the child, diseases of the brain and diseases of other parts of the head.

Severe headaches in children may be accompanied by infectious and inflammatory diseases in the acute period (tonsillitis, pyelonephritis, influenza, pneumonia, erysipelas). Headache in this case occurs against the background of general intoxication of the body at elevated body temperature. It usually disappears after taking antipyretic drugs with an analgesic effect (Paracetamol, Efferalgan, Calpol).

The cause of headaches in children can be stress, mental and physical stress, conflicts in the family and school, overexertion, spasmodic tightening of the muscles of the shoulder girdle and neck. The pain of a compressive, pressing nature usually spreads to the occipital and frontal parts, gradually covering the entire head. However, it does not increase with physical activity. Such pain most often goes away on its own after a walk, sleep, or warm-up. If this type of headache occurs more than a hundred days a year, then it is necessary to conduct an examination of the child’s body.

Severe headaches in children can occur due to stretching of the walls, disruption of cerebral circulation and cerebral vascular tone. Such pain can be bursting, pulsating, pressing in nature. The examination will help determine the root cause of such headaches.

With a sensitive psyche, the causes of headaches in children may be a reluctance to attend school, a doctor, or finish eating porridge. A psychotherapist or psychiatrist can help with this type of pain. Parents should help organize the child’s correct daily routine, provide a stable emotional background, and reduce emotional and physical stress.

If a child complains of a headache, and it is accompanied by diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, redness or paleness of the skin, then the cause of this condition may be migraine. Migraine often causes photophobia. Multi-colored circles appear before the eyes or the visual picture disappears completely. A migraine attack can last from half an hour to five hours.

A sudden severe headache in a child, localized in the frontal, temporal regions, or covering the entire head, may indicate an inflammatory disease of the meninges (meningitis) or the brain as a whole (encephalitis). Along with the pain, repeated vomiting, chills, and a significant increase in body temperature usually begin.

If a child develops a severe headache after a head injury, and the pain is followed by nausea and dizziness, then a bruise or concussion can be suspected.

Often the cause of headaches in children is inflammation of the maxillary or frontal paranasal sinuses of the skull. In this case, pain most often appears in the morning, when pressure in the sinuses increases (when they are filled with pus). Children of primary school age sometimes complain of pain in the head due to acute otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear). Headache can also occur with herpetic eruptions, with erysipelas of the scalp, with blurred vision, as well as with neuralgia of the superior branch of the trigeminal nerve.

Treatment of headaches in children

To relieve headaches in children at home, it is necessary to remove any physical or mental stress, lightly massage the temples, put a warm compress on the child’s forehead, and give the child the opportunity to sleep in the fresh air.

Before starting treatment, it is necessary to find out the exact cause of the headache. First, the doctor must carefully study the complaints, the history of the development of the disease, and carefully examine the child. Additional studies will not be needed if the findings obtained during the examination indicate tension headaches or migraines. Laboratory and instrumental studies are simply necessary when signs of organic damage to the central nervous system are identified during the examination.

Paracetamol is commonly used to treat headaches in children. For long-term treatment, dihydroergotamine and beta blockers are used. Dihydroergotamine is prescribed in gradually increasing doses over six to eight weeks. If you have an increased tendency to have seizures, it is advisable to take anticonvulsants (phenytoin, carbamazepine) for a limited period of time. If a child is prone to vomiting when taking medications, then the drugs are best administered in the form of suppositories.

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