Would you take 4yo to gp with a headache?

[Fligflaag]

2 night ago 4yo woke up twice saying his neck hurt. (Didn't think anything of it as he often wakes up with aches and pains and is always fine in the morning.)

Later that night he was awake for nearly 2 hours with a really bad headache and feeling as though he was going to be sick. (But wasn't) Gave him painkillers.

In the morning he seemed okay but said his head hurt a few times but seemed fine.

Last night, he woke up again with a headache, went back to sleep but woke up again and hour later with his head ache worse and needing painkillers.

He's otherwise well. Is going to the GP and over reaction?

Take him. There’s too much anxiety over going to the GP in the UK. They are there to provide medical care. I don’t second guess when it comes to my children and nor do i ever feel bad for taking them in to be seenz

I know what you mean. It's just that I know it probably is just a headache so I don't know if I'm just being overly anxious about it.

My son gets migraines and when he was seen by a paediatrician about them they said if he wakes in the night with them then get him seen again. So I don't think you'd be unreasonable to take him to the GP.

Yes, I absolutely would in your situation. I'd be phoning for an urgent appt too and if no luck getting on to 111. He's probably fine, but I'd want him seen before the weekend.

Here's the NHS advice. Urgent GP appointment or 111 if a child has a headache that wakes them in the night:

https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/headaches/

Yes you should take him. Waking from deep sleep with a headache needs checking out.

My DD had this just over a year ago, had an MRI and thankfully nothing sinister.

Follow your intuition. You are posting here so I am guessing you feel that something is wrong. You should take him. I hope everything is totally fine!

Head and neck plain together that didn’t really calm down would justify a GP trip to me.

To be fair he's never mentioned the neck pain since. I just mentioned it in case it was relevant. He still doesn't sleep through the night and comes into my room saying his back/knee/leg hurts. I think he says it as an 'excuse' to wake me up at night if you know what I mean? So the neck 'pain' could be that.

Anyway, I've made him a GP appointment for this morning.

Yes I would. I think it’s unusual for small children to complain of a headache. Mine never did. I would mention the other pains he is complaining of too.

The GP checked him over and said it was just a headache.

Is there a history of migraine in the family?

Migraine can present in children of this age, and it often shows up slightly differently than in adults.

https://migrainetrust.org/migraine-in-children-and-young-people/

Even though GP has checked him, keep an eye on him. If headaches continue go back to GP. Any headache that wakes a child is concerning.
Also get his eyes checked.

My DS has suffered chronic migraine since he was a baby. He had episodes of extreme fussiness/crying as a baby followed by a single vomit which seemed to resolve things. When he could talk he referred to pain in his head during these episodes. Always led to sickness. We ended up being referred to peads and he started taking a prophylactic from around age 8 as he was missing school a lot. So definitely go to GP if this is a recurring thing.

Thanks everyone. I will definitely keep an eye on him and take him back if it continues. I get migraines but I didn't realise 4 year olds could get them! I seriously hope this isn't the start. Your poor DS @VanCleefArpels!

Taking a tiny pill (Pizotifen) every day was a miracle! He’s grown up now and very rarely gets a migraine, stopped taking the medication while at uni due to failing to get a repeat prescription 🙄

If he gets recurring headaches, maybe take him to see an osteopath who specialises in cranial osteopathy on young children. That's what we had to do when our dc got a lot of headaches at primary school age. Turned out her head wasn't aligned properly with her neck, probably caused during spine-to-spine birth, but it was only as she got older that it started to cause issues.

Could be worth getting his eyes tested.

Yes, my DS got sent to A&E with severe headaches and neck pain. It turned out he had the flu but it can be a red flag for meningitis ( it usually isn’t but does need checking out).

Yes this, worth ruling out whether it’s his eyes

Take him for an eye test that can rule a lot of things out,or he could actually need glasses

Defo take to gp our child was the same having headaches,they were referred to hospital and kept in for ct scan and mri.Thankfully showed nothing sinister they did find cysts on the brain that aren't dangerous.Hope ur little one is ok

My DD gets migraines, minor at a young age but from around 7 they got progressively worse. She now has one at least once a month, but she is usually sick, sleeps for 12 hours and is fine.

Docs wont do anything for us yet as too young for medication but we are keeping a log, including what she has done prior, food eaten, sleep pattern so we have tracking evidence once she is old enough for further investigation

DD is hereditary on dad's side

The GP is right, and it's not concerning. But do keep an eye out of course and definitely get his eyes checked, but just sounds like he could be prone to migraines. Ive had them all my life and and even waking up with them as a small child.

I would. It’s an unusual thing for such a young child to complain of I think.