Children and Headaches
Children are just as susceptible to headaches
as adults are. Too much exertion, heat, loud
sounds, and bright lights can cause children
to have headaches, and if a child feels a great
deal of tension, they may have tension headaches
as well. Of course, headaches also often accompany
fever if a child is ill.
Unfortunately, children cannot take the same
pain medication for headaches that adults take,
and most children’s medication may not
be strong enough to deal with the pain. Young
children don’t know how to express how
much pain they are in, and may not even realize
that what they have is in fact a headache.
When a child can tell you that they have a
headache, the first thing you should do is use
an over-the-counter children’s pain reliving
medication. You can also teach the child some
relaxation techniques to help reduce or relieve
tension headaches. Remember that the children’s
medication may help, but it typically is not
strong enough to completely get rid of a headache.
Sleep will often take care of a child’s
headache.
The child should be given plenty of fluids
as well. Often, dehydration will cause a headache,
and children tend to lose a lot of body fluids
in their day to day activities. If you can keep
the child properly hydrated, you will reduce
or even prevent headaches.
Since light can cause headaches, consider getting
a pair of sunglasses for your child as well.
There are sunglasses that are made specifically
to prevent headaches, and they make these sunglasses
for children as well. Children spend a great
deal of time in bright lights, whether the light
is artificial, such as fluorescent lighting,
or natural, such as sunshine.
If your child has frequent headaches, you should
take him or her to your healthcare provider
to determine the cause. For frequent painful
headaches, prescription medication may be needed.
Medication for Headaches
There are many over the counter drugs that
can be used to cure the common headache and
even reduce fever. In some cases of persistent
or severe headaches you could go to your doctor
to get a prescription for some other medication
for your headaches. Often you will be prescribed
the same over drugs you can find over the counter,
but with a higher grade of pain reliever milligrams.
Whether the medication you take for your headache
is over the counter or prescribed by your doctor
you should always be concerned with what the
major side effects are. Always be sure to only
take medication that has been personally prescribed
to you for your symptoms. Never take someone
else’s prescription drugs because they
could be given to that person for symptoms that
they failed to tell you about other than the
one symptom you may have.
When taking over the counter medication, do
not mix the medication with any other medication
whether it is prescribed or over the counter
unless otherwise suggested by your doctor. Drugs
can have a bad interaction with other drugs
causing illness and sometimes death. The utmost
caution should be used at all times when taking
any sort of medication.
