When to Worry About Your Child’s Headaches
Fortunately, less than 2% of pediatric and adolescent headaches are the result of a serious disease or physical problem.
When should a more serious problem be considered?
Medical History
A more serious problem should be considered when your child’s general medical or neurological history reveal any of the following:
- New headaches that have been occurring for less than 6 months, are worsening and do not improve after treatment
- Progressive headaches: headaches that are becoming more severe and frequent over time
- No family history of similar headaches
- A family history of neurological disease
Physical Exam
A more serious problem should be considered when your child’s physical exam reveals any of the following:
- Abnormalities of temperature, breathing, pulse or blood pressure
- Inflammation of the optic nerve, the nerve in the back of the eye
- An enlarged head
- A noise or bruit in the head heard through a stethoscope
- Coffee-colored spots on the skin
Neurological Symptoms
A more serious problem should be considered when your child has any of these neurological symptoms:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Weakness
- Dizziness
- Sudden loss of balance or falling
- Numbness or tingling
- Paralysis
- Speech difficulties
- Mental confusion
- Seizures
- Loss of consciousness
- Personality changes/inappropriate behavior
- Vision changes (blurry vision, double vision or blind spots)
- Lethargy: being indifferent, apathetic or sluggish, or sleeping too much
A structural disorder of the central nervous system, as listed below, may be suspected in the development of serious headaches:
- Tumor
- Abscess
- Hemorrhage (bleeding within the brain)
- Bacterial or viral meningitis (an infection or inflammation of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord)
- Pseudotumor cerebri (increased intracranial pressure)
- Hydrocephalus (abnormal build-up of fluid in the brain)
- Infection of the brain
- Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain)
- Blood clots
- Head trauma