My Child Has A Headache, What Could Be The Cause?

When children have a headache, it's seen as one of the easier things to treat as parents. You always fear for what kind of virus they might have caught from the other kids at their school or if they did something silly to bring this one. But when it's just a simple headache, painful though it may be, treating it is quite straightforward. On the other hand, it might not be.

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There are many things that can cause a headache and a simple children’s aspirin isn’t always going to solve the problem. Headache tablets will only give a short-term solution to a potentially much broader problem. It's critical for parents to know all the other causes of headaches, so they don’t keep giving their children medicine which ultimately, doesn’t work. You’ll be in a constant loop, which can cause your child a great deal of stress.

A rough night


Just like everyone else, children can have a rough night’s sleep. And just like their parents, children can wake up with a pain in their neck. Since children’s bodies are still fragile and growing, they’re a lot more flexible than you are. So usually, a sore neck from a bad sleeping position corrects itself in a couple of days. However, for some children this may not be the case. If the pain is severe, you should run by a few checks with your son or daughter to pinpoint the problem.


Where is the pain emanating from? Is it the neck, base of the head, or in the upper back?
Does the pain shoot down an arm? Does it shoot upward over the cranium and into the eye?
Is the pain local rather than widespread?

Once you have located the source of the pain and how far it reaches, you can start to filter through the possible treatments. A trapped nerve will usually prevent head movement. Pain in the neck and head can be treated with aspirin and stretches. If it's pain shooting down the arm, the upper back and neck have to be loosened. It's wise to do a little research and find out what kinds of stretches and treatments you can give to children with trapped nerves in the neck.

A dull white noise

Tinnitus catches many parents off guard because the condition is usually associated with older people. However, tinnitus can also be caused by glue ear which is mainly seen in children. It causes a buildup of fluid in the inner ear, however, it will eventually heal without the need for treatment. Even if this is short-lived, it can cause pain as the pressure from the fluid increases. Other symptoms also found in children are ear infections. Kids play in the mud and stick their dirty in their mouths and ears, so of course, ear infections do cause a lot of other problems.

However loud noises can cause tinnitus in children especially as their ears are still fragile and unable to handle high decibels. Speak to an audiologist and they will inform you of the correct steps to take if the white noise is really discomforting to your child. You may be tempted to take your child to an ENT doctor as well, however, they will not specialize in hearing and the ear as an audiologist does. Ears, nose and throat doctors are great to treat causes that are not directly in or around the ear.

Playing too rough

It's wise to let children play a little rough sometimes. Just like every other creature in the animal kingdom, youngsters like to tumble around and explore their bodies. How else will a child know how fast he or she can run if they don’t race each other? However, there is such as thing as playing too rough. Children should be reminded to take care and to mind any injury to the head. A direct impact or blunt force trauma injury to the ear can lead to tinnitus and chronic headaches. Child migraine is a very painful experience and it can feel like you may be about to faint from the pain. If your child comes home from school one day to have a severe headache, ask him or her if they had an injury or hit their head. Even if they don’t have a lump or bruise, this could be the reason.

It's very worrying for parents to see their children with a bad headache. Sometimes off the shelf treatments work like a charm. Other times, they will only give temporary relief. If the issue is emanating from the ear, take your child to a specialist like an audiologist. If it's an ear infection, you need to keep the area clean and dry, while using ear drops medicine.