9 Year Old Boy Having a Lot of Headaches

Hi, I don't have a good answer, headaches can come from a number of things. A trip to the DR. could help you discover what the cause could be. It could be from things he eats, stress, etc. I know certain things will give me headaches and they didn't always. Certain drinks, or even too much sugar at certain times of the month. It could be as simple as that. It could also be invironmental. I wouldn't stress to much, but I would check with the DR sometime.

Mother of 5

Maybe try getting his eyes checked out.

Hi K.,

You may consider having his eyes checked out. My son was having headaches and that was it!

Good luck!

Starting around 9 or 10 I too started getting headaches that didn't go away until I was 20 or so. I was finally diagnosed with hypoglysiemia witch really only means I have to eat every couple of hours (mainly protien) or I still will get headaches. I don't know if that could be true for your child, but I do know it is difficult to regulate your childs eating habits when they are school age and decide if they are nutritionally recieving all they need to sustain themselves. Diet is almost always to blame for headaches! I am not suggesting you don't feed your child, only that as parents we have no way of knowing if our child is eating well at school or not given enough time to finish lunch,or given enough if any time to eat during breaks or it is possible our children are throwing some of the "embarrasing" foods away. You may see if having your child eat a small snack after school that is well balanced helps out.

A little about me:
I am a 33yr. old mother of 3 beautiful children 15, 13, and 3. I am a health food nut!

Aloha Kathi,

There are definitally many possibilities. But many headaches are caused by lack of water and calcium difficiencies. Eating dairy products does not guarantee calcium absorbency. Actually, the calcium in dairy is not easily absorbed. I give my kids chewable calcium instead. Here's the one they take http://www.shaklee.net/sarahs/product/20126 . Usually, when taking any food supplements or vitamins it is best to take it with food. Calcium is a little different. The body absorbs more calcium during the night which is why we take ours at night. My friend's husband was getting headaches very regularly. Told her to have him switch to bedtime calcium intake. It has been over a month and he hasn't had any more headaches! Amazing how a simple change can make such a difference. With all the stress I have (3 kids, 2 businesses, volunteer, etc.) sometimes I can feel tension headaches coming on. At the onset of the first sympton, which is usually at the end of a super stressful day, I take 2 of my kid's chewable calcium and I am fine. Before doing that the headaches would last a couple of days.

Let me know if you have any questions,

Marie-anne
Children's Health & Wellness Advocate

This can be very scary, I know. You don't want to imagine the worst, but why would a child have headaches at this age? we ask. My son was the same. A visit to the doctor showed he wasn't diabetic, or anemic, or worse. So what could be done?Since I try to handle everthing as homeopathically as possible, this was my task at hand. I looked for patterns to his headaches. Time of day, diet, habits, etc. Has he just finished running around or other play? Is he tired when his head hurts? Has he been reading, writing or concentrating on school work? How about watching tv or playing video games?

I found that my son wasn't getting enough fluid to his joints, and because of the growth rate at this age, it was vital. He needed more high oxygen foods, as well. When my kids were very young I started them on vitamins in very low dosage, I found it was time to kick it up a notch. I also introduced liquid minerals. (Peter Gilham's Liquid Vitamins & Minerals.) Our food just doesn't offer enough by itself, unfortunately. My son was also a fidgeter, slightly hyperactive and "antsy," so diversions and outlets were necessary. But his attention span wasn't very long. I noticed this created anxiety in him. He is so smart, but it's how he channels and formulates things that throw him off track. He is actually focusing more intensly on the situation than he shows. Because of this, he "overloads" quicker than other kids. I started sitting down and having more conversation time with my son. Without knowing it, he started to "unload" and "decompress." Anxiety was a BIG issue. We are great parents, but we don't know everything going on in our children's minds. Lastly, I made a calming, c.d. for him to fall asleep to. The tones are comforting and help him sleep sooner and deeper. It helped my other children, as well. I pray all will be well with you and your son.

Check his sugar. We all most lost our boy to high blood sugar.No one knew he had high sugar.When we found out the boy had high blood sugar the Dr said another few hours and he would have passed.

I agree with getting the eyes checked out. Maybe it is also do to allergy/sinus issues? Keep a log of when the headaches occur to see if there is a pattern or any triggers. How is he doing in school? If he is having trouble with classes and over scheduled with activites, it could be due to stress.

Most headaches are caused by EYE STRAIN. Before going to glasses, read "The Bates method for BETTER EYESIGHT WITHOUT GLASSES" on www.amazon.com & there are similar books in the library/bookstores like "Improve your eyesight : a guide to the Bates method for better eyesight without glasses" by Jonathan Barnes. Too much looking at computer, video games, TV, etc can cause eye strain, also reading in poor light, etc.

I know for me and for one of my four children, around that same age came headaches. For me it was two things happening, I had eye strain and needed reading glasses. I also had/have sinus & allergy issues with the seasons changing and weather changes (altitude can do it too on a drive etc..). With my son, it was his sinus & allergy issues that I obviously passed on. He was already on Claritin but along with his portion of Tylenol, and an added decongestant, he was fine within a few days & we know now to add to his regime when there are weather changes. Good Luck and God Bless You!

I am so glad that you are taking your son into the doctor. Your son could have a headache from any number of causes. Make sure you find out where on his head the pain is coming from and what kind of pain it is (shooting, stabbing, vice like, dull, pressure). The doctor will need to know these things. Others have mentioned diet, dehydration, eye strain and allergies. Other things can be stress, poor posture, improper allignment. I've had headaches from a multitude of sources including muscles that won't relax after injury, sinus polup, hormorne caused migraine, eye strain, stress and improper spinal allignment. Most headaches will resolve themselves soon after addressing the cause. Don't worry too much. Your doctor will be a great help. However, if the headaches don't go away quickly after making the reccomended changes follow up with your son's doctor. Keep following up until a solution is found and know that if there is a complicated cause it may require a complicated ballance of "cures".

Take him to the chiropractor & have his neck checked. Especially the "atlas" that tends to cause 98% of my headaches.

After checking eyes and sinuses, you may want to take him to a chiropractor. I have a genetic neck issue and if I don't get adjustments I have horrifying headaches. Good Luck.

Hi, K.!
My 9yo son has headaches fairly regularly also. We've found that it's due to dehydration. He's a very active boy but he just doesn't think about stopping to drink water. So before & after school we have him drink water at home & highly encourage him to do the same at school. Every time he comes in from playing outdoors we have him drink a glass of water first, then he can have whatever he likes (aside from soda) to drink. My oldest son (13) would never drink water as a younger kid until one really hot summer my Mom had him sit at the dining room table until he drank a glass of water. He was not allowed to leave the room to do anything until it was gone. It took him a good 30 min to decide to drink it, but it worked. I don't know if your son is the same way or not with water, so I thought I'd add that in there too!
The headaches could also be a number of things that other people suggested too, the best thing to do is take your son to the Dr. and have him checked out. Good luck! - K.

Both my daughters did the same thing at that age, until they were about 13 or so. First off, a well-check visit with the pediatrician is in order, just to make sure everything is okay in general and to get the doctor's view. Second, what stressors is he expericing? Children process stress differently and headaches are a common response in my experience. Third, it may help to spend more time with him in general to see if you spot anything that may make him tense or anxious, thus leading to headaches as a response. Oh, and one other thing, does he have allergies? Allergies can be a source of headaches for kids.

Hang in there Mom. He is lucky that you are sensitive to an issue a lot of parents would write off as too trivial to persue.

Try chiropractic. Chiropractic has excellent results and gets to the cause of the problem rather than just masking symptoms with drugs. I've had patients with headaches everyday since childhood and no cause was ever found by a medical doctor. After following a course of treatments with chiropractic their headaches were gone and have not been a problem since. Why let a child suffer until their old enough to resolve the problem on their own? Take care of your son now and get him to a chiropractor that works with children.

Hi K.,

I'd take him to the doctor. He may just need glasses but just be safe.

V.

Hello K.,
I wish my mom had taken me to the Doctor when I had headaches,
GO!! GO NOW!!
Good Luck,
I hope sincerely, that he does not have a serious problem,
C. S.

Dear K.;
If I was you the first thing is to go to a doctor and really find out what is the cause for his headache. Every kid is different the cause for headache could be food allergies,
vision or many other reasons so to be save have the doctor determine what is your child problem. Good luck.

Anna L.

My 11 year old daughter has had headaches as far as I can remember. Now as she's getting older, she seems to have them more often, but nothing too serious. A couple of children's tylenol usually does the job. I suffer from migraines and I was the same way as a child. My daughter has had a couple but nothing to rush her to the ER. I'm thinking it's growing pains, but I recommend to log down your child's headaches and what he/she has ate that day. That can help too. Hope this helps.

Not normal to have lots of headaches. Please do check with the doc ASAP!

My son is 8 and has a lot of headaches also. He has allergies, and has to wear glasses while doing any work up close. If he doesn't wear his glasses he will get headaches. Have you had his eyes tested? Let me know what the doc says, if you decide to take him. My son does have growing pains, but they are in his legs.

Is he drinking enough water? I don't know what your diet is like, but soda and juice are not sufficient if that is what he is getting. Many headaches are from dehydration.
How is his vision? If he wears glasses maybe there is something wrong with the prescription.

Hopefully your family has a good diet with no processed foods, white sugar, white flour, table salt, chemical additives, artificial flavors, pesticides and preservatives. If your diet is not so great consider that he may be just be a more sensitive child whose system can't handle a lot of unnatural foods.

Even if diet is not the cause, a good diet will always improve the health of you and your son. Fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, rice, quinoa, beans, lentils, seaweed (trace minerals) and a moderate amount of fermented foods, (saurekrat, kombucha etc) sea salt instead of table salt etc. is a great place to start.

I would make sure He drinks enough water as early stage of dehyration can lead to headaches, I would also make sure his eyesight is good.

I don't know if anyone has ever mentioned this, but it may be that he needs glasses. My sister and I had the same problems when we were younger, and that was the problem. Most children don't know when it's their eyes that are the problem. It is pretty much useless to ask them if they have trouble seeing, because they have always seen that way. They don't know the world any differently. My husband navigated around until he was about 11 before his parents took him in to get his eyes checked! Turns out he had pretty bad vision, and it changed his world once he started wearing contacts. So, taking him to the eye doctor may be the solution...or it may not. I guess it is worth a shot! Good Luck:)

Every one of my kids has a sensitivity to fragrances so our home is fragrance free. When we visit other homes with plug ins or burning candles some if not all will have a headache after. 3 of my 4 kids are allergic to pet dander and they get headaches after they have been around pets. 2 out of my 4 have seasonal allergies and their headaches are pretty severe with seasonal changes. We just avoid as much as possible their sensitivities but we cannot avoid the seasons. Other moms mentioned dehydration which I agree is a problem with headaches. Anyway, not sure if that will help but that is our source of headaches.

I worked in a clinic for 7 years, headaches are a very clear symptom that something is wrong-its the body's response to get us to act upon and wake up-usually dehidration is the first thing but unless he is seen and followed by a doctor-you really wont know-make sure you take him in now better than later-I do not want to scare you but brain tummors in children always present with headeaches and blurred vision.

Have you had his eyes checked? My daughter started having a lot of headaches around 4th grade and she need glasses not real strong but it helped. I did have to take her a couple of times the first time they said her vision was fine then a few months later she complained she couldn't see the board from the back we took her again and they gave her glasses. Now her vision is so bad she wears contacts because she can't see with out them. (she is now 16). One other thing is if she doesn't get enough sleep like after a sleep over she tends to get bad headaches too. Is there anything stressful going on such as grades or problem with friends a lot of times kids don't show any signs of stress except for headaches. Just a couple things to think about. Cold compresses work great to help releive the pain. Good luck.

Have you had his eyesight tested? My nephew around the same age complained of constant headaches and not being able to see the chalkboard. he had his eyes tested and it was "eye strain" causing them. Once he got his glasses they went away.