Talk to me about headaches in children.

[seeker]

My dd has always suffered from headaches. When she was about 9, I took her to the dr and we kept a headache diary. It showed what I already knew - that they are caused by stress and tiredness. The Dr said that there was nothing reallyt hat could be done - just to manage them with pain-killers when necessary. She's 12 now, and I can still predict pretty accurately when she's going to get one. But they seem to be getting more severe and more frequent. They have never been bad enough for her to need time off school, for example, but she has had 3 days off since Christmas with them. She wears glasses and has her eyes tested regularly, so it's not that. I don't think there's any trouble at school, and certainly not at home, althought she is at a very high achieveing school and she is very conscientious.

I don't know what I'm asking, really -I suppose I'm hoping for any tips in how to help her deal with something that I suspect is going to be her reaction to stress all her life! And also, when and if I ought to be worried and take her back to the dr.

No solution here but my DS1 who is 8 is a headache sufferer and so am I. Like your DD tiredness and stress bring them on as does dehydration. He also (like me) gets nasty mouth ulcers when stressed and run down.

I wonder if her age and the hormonal changes she is probably experiencing have increased the headaches? I suffered from bad migraines in my late teens, early twenties and during my 4 pgs, was told it was hormonal.

I didn't think of them being connected to hormones - oh God, does that mean we are nearly at periods?

Puberty and menopause in the same house. Not a good thought for the two male members of the family. Or the cats.

What does your ds take for his?

when you say dr do you mean gp? or a specialist?

No, the GP.

I'd ask for a referral to a consultant - there are some who take a special interest in children's headaches. I met one up in Liverpool at Alder Hey, who has a clinic every week with children suffering from migraines (often "just" stomach migraines, with no headache) and chronic headache.

I give my DS Nurofen for children or Calpol 6+. I also make him drink. He is terrible for not drinking enough and I forget to nag him.

Oh dear periods and menopause could be interesting - poor cats.