Many parents assume the worst when a child complains that his head hurts, especially a young child. But a headache doesn't always mean something serious is wrong, nor does one always need to be treated with pain medication. There are a variety of ways to treat your child's headache.
Instructions
Evaluate Your Child's Headache
1. Err on the side of caution. Call the pediatrician or 911 if your child develops a headache after a fall or a blow to the head, if your child is exhibiting a high fever, stiff neck and personality change with his headache, or is in excruciating pain and has an increasing number of headaches. Most children's headaches are transient and benign, but there's always the possibility that the pain is a sign of some larger disease or injury process.
2. Consider various causes for your child's headache before deciding on a treatment. A family history of migraines makes your child more susceptible to developing the condition, which frequently needs to be diagnosed by and treated by a physician. Other causes of headaches in children include sinus infections, viral infection, ear infections, changes in the atmospheric pressure, depression, anxiety and food sensitivities.
3. Ask your child to describe the pain. Sharp, one-sided pain can indicate a cluster headache which, while extremely painful, tends to resolve itself within a few hours and doesn't respond well to pain medications. Throbbing, pulsing pain accompanied by visual disturbances and sensitivity to light, sound and smells are hallmark signs of a migraine. A headache that presents as a tight, squeezing pain around the forehead is often a tension headache, while a dull aching sensation can be an indicator of dehydration or hunger.
Treat Headaches Naturally
4. Provide your child with an ice pack to apply to his head or the back of his neck. Have him sit in a quiet, dimly-lit room while applying the ice pack to see if the cold and calm reduces the pain.
5. Rub your child's shoulders, neck and temples. This can help to relieve tension headaches. You can also teach your child to massage his temples with his index and middle fingers while taking slow, deep calming breaths.
6. Have your child drink a glass (or two) of water. Dehydration is a common cause of headaches in both children and adults. Water can relieve the pain, but just make sure not to induce a headache by giving her an icy-cold glass of it.
7. Encourage your child to take a nap or to lie down for a little while. While sleep is often the only cure for some types of headaches, lack of sleep can also be a culprit in causing them. A tired child may complain of head pain and tired eyes.
Treat Headaches With Medication
8. Give your child a dose of ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Check the package carefully to make sure you're giving him the correct dose, call your doctor to double-check the dosage or visit a parenting website like BabyCenter or BabyZone to view dosage charts (see Resources).
9. Talk to your child's pediatrician about over-the-counter or prescription allergy medications if your child seems to suffer headaches during hay fever season. While a pain reliever may get rid of the headache, it won't treat the underlying irritation that is causing the pain.
10. Give your child physician-prescribed medication for migraines as soon as she feels the headache coming on. Migraines are often preceded by auras, or disturbances in vision, a general feeling of unease or a sense that a headache is coming.
Tips Warnings
Keep a headache journal if your child suffers from frequent episodes. Include a list of foods eaten, the time the headache occurred and how long it lasted as well as a general notation about the weather and any stressors that your child faced that day.
Never give a child aspirin to treat a headache. Aspirin use in children is associated with a serious condition called Reye's syndrome.
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