My 7 Year Old Gets headaches...HELP!!!!

Migraines & headaches can be caused by self-critical thoughts. Is he a perfectionist? You can both learn a cutting edge energy medicine process called tapping or EFT. Find it on emofree.com. He will be able to help himself feel better at any time.

I was diagnosed with migraines at a young age as well. Later on we found the triggers were low blood sugar (from not eating often enough) and also food allergies. Now that I've eliminated the foods I'm allergic to I haven't had a migraine in over 5 years...but suffered with them since the age of 8 to the age of 29.

I took feverfew (you can find it at any health food store and I think I even saw some at Jewel) and it helped but I had to take it so often that it became a pain.

I would suggest chiropractic for kids (they do different things with kids than adults) and maybe acupuncture along with eliminating foods he may be allergic to. That combination solved my issue for good!

I agree with having an eye exam w/an opthamologist (your health insurance will cover it if it is with an opth also.)

Is he staying hydrated? Dehydration is the leading cause of headaches.

I would also do an elimination diet. Many things can trigger headaches- nitrates/nitrites and other preservatives and additives in food, certain foods like cheese, caffeine, etc.
There is a great elimination diet program for children here:
www.feingold.com

I would also get a second opinion. Has he had any CT scans, EEGs? This is a must to rule out major things like tumors (don't want to be scary, but you really want to be careful with headaches happening so frequently and severely.)

Is he on any meds for other issues? I ask this because some can affect the pituitary gland, etc and cause headaches as well.

I hope you get answers.
Hugs,
M.

My son also gets migraines and started them around 6 years old and they occur occasionally. He has had CAT scans and at this point in his life, his Doctor would just like to rule out any other concern so we are going to schedule an MRI. I really believe they are just migraines (certainly not to minimize "migraines", I would just rather it be that then a bigger medical concern.) My son is 11 years old. We, too, have had his eyes checked and he's had physicals, etc... and the pediatrician believes that they are migraines.

We've determined a few triggers: My son needs to eat regularly, including 2 snacks. He also needs to remember to stay hydrated, as he is the kind of kid who has a great metabolism, slender build and a lot of energy. And... he needs a good night sleep (he usually sleeps 9 - 10 hours) He does have seasonal allergies, so we, too, have him on Claritin OTC in the Spring and Fall, and if I notice any sinus concerns, he sometimes takes a nasal spray (Nasonex) for a 2 week stint. A young neighbor went through 3 months of torture because her migraines became so severe and debilitating that they couldn't go to school. A Doctor determined that this child had a gluten intolerance. Now that this child is off gluten, life is good. My sister's culprit for her migraines was dairy and has ended her love for cheese so, don't rule out food allergies that can develop at any time in your life.

For my son's migraines, he takes Jr. Strength Motrin/ibuprofen (300 mg's) at onset. Every year, I have to make sure to have the paperwork filled out to dispense medicine at school. This has been my biggest battle with my son, over the years. He would get a headache and "wait it out", thinking that it would just go away, or he doesn't want to bother anyone or he's a little embarrassed to tell the teacher. Unfortunately, this has lead to moments when he has come home from school in terrible pain, takes his ibuprofen, grabs his ice pack and goes straight to bed. When he is in that much pain, he occasionally vomits from them, too. Sadly, the medicine takes that much longer to kick in.

My son now has learned to IMMEDIATELY ask the teacher to go to the nurse's office, at onset, because he has a headache. He doesn't usually get auras (vision abnormalities /warnings) like I do (yes, family history is a biggie for a diagnosis, and I get them, too) but he gets other sensations and dull pain at onset. Most of his headache pain can be warded off immediately when he takes his medicine quickly. At the beginning of every school year, I talk to each of his teachers, then I write them a little note - "just an FYI that my son gets migraines, please let him get his med's when he asks." Otherwise, if you don't alert EACH teacher, they may view your child as trying to get out of an activity. Even then, I had a situation this year, when a teacher told my son that he only had "45 minutes left of school so please sit down". He didn't push the issue and he came home so terribly sick. I was so upset. The teacher later apologized to him - she just forgot about his history even though he had asked to go and see the nurse.

I'm telling you all this because he will be in school and you will want to arm him with something in school should he get a headache. No, I've never used feverfew but I wonder if a Dr. will sign permission to give this to your child during the school day. My son can go for weeks without getting a headache but, certain times of the year are worse for him.

So sorry to hear your son goes through this - it is awful to see them in pain. Just hopes this can help to minimize it.

Good luck.

Poor thing, headaches can be so awful!

Has your son ever had an eye exam? Not just reading the eye chart at the pediatrician, but an actual visit to an eye doctor? As a child I had horrid headaches for almost a year. We finally figured out through a routine eye screening that I needed glasses and it was the eyestrain triggering the headaches.

For relief, try holding an icepack on the back of the neck while lying in a dark room for a bit.

It is so hard to see them like that and not know what to do. My son has gotten migrains since he was 3. He would grab the front of his head and start screaming, through up and just want to go to bed. We have seen eye doctors, MRI, neuerologist, everything. They think it is allergies (really only happens in the summer). He is 5 now and knows to tell whoever is around as soon as his head starts to feel weird and just runs to lay down. After a nap he normally feels better. My husbands dad had the same thing when he was little and just out grew it so I'm hopeing he does soon also. Hope everything works itself out for you and your little guy!

My son also gets migraines. We kept a journal of the headaches including when they occurred,how long, weather, what his activities had been prior to the headaches. It gave us amazing information. I can't tell you how much the diary helped us and him. My son is now able to tell when they are starting and we can medicate him quickly and usually avoid the full blown migraine symptoms.

As for school, it is really hard. For a year the school would make him come home and rest. Finally, I got them to understand that all he needed was to be trusted to make the decision himself. He never wanted to come home, with his medication (Motrin also) he was able to drink a full glass of water with medication and be back to class within about 20 minutes. When the nurse made him wait it took a lot longer to get back to normal and the symptoms were usually a lot worse (stomach upset etc).

We have really been able to cut down on the Motrin now that we can sense things in him much quicker. My son did use a lot in the beginning but not any longer. We still keep it in every car and he carries it to all his sports practices but hardly uses it.

If you need any suggestions for dealing with the school please let me know. You will need a note from the dr saying he needs this at school or they won't keep it there for him.

Yes, it definitely sounds like he has migraines. Poor baby.

Feverfew should be easily found at any Health Food Store, or even someplace like the Vitamin Shoppe. Or, you can try online at someplace like Lucky Vitamin.

Did you actually see the neurologist? Is he the one recommending Feverfew?

The other thing you can do is keep a diary of when he gets the migraines. Keep a food diary and see if it's related to anything he's eating. Migraines have so many potential causes. I suggest you get online and start reading about migraines, and migraines in children, in particular.

Try the feverfew, and see if that helps. There is also a homeopathic remedy from Hyland's that is just for migraines. Other than that, give him a cold pack for his head, have him sit in the dark and lay down and just try to sleep.

Motrin, if it helps, is great. I also suffer with migraines and no medicine helps them. I have to just sit in the dark with a cold pack on my head until it goes away. For me, they are sometimes caused by my clenching my jaw and grinding my teeth. Has your dentist said anything about him having TMJ? That could be causing it, too. In that case, they can make a splint for him to wear to prevent the teeth grinding which can keep the headaches away.

Another thing that might work is acupuncture. Have you tried that?

If he is getting the headaches and the vomiting I would ask the doctor or nuerologist about getting a CAT scan and and MRI done. You want to make sure to rule out all other factors. I have a friend whos son had bad headaches and was vomitting and it was not just a migraine. Ask for the tests to rule other medical concerns out. I hope you and your son can find some peace from this soon.

I would recommend trying a chiropractor. My 9 year gets headaches and a trip to the chiropractor will usually relieve them. Most kids respond really well to chiropractic and its a non-invasive, drug free alternative!

My son, who is now 6, but has been getting migraines, since he was 4. Ibuprofen helped alot but, I didn't like giving him that everyday either. Finally, we went to a neurologist and he prescribed Cyproheptadine and it works very well. It is actually just an antihistamine but, they use it for migraines in children. The only downside is it causes drowsiness@ first until, their little bodies get used to it. I started giving it to him just as needed but, eventually took the Dr.'s suggestion and give it twice daily. It does prevent alot of headaches now! He does still get an occaissional migraine but, not like he used to get...hope this helps! Lots of luck, I know how awful it is to get them and see your child suffer threw them!
J.