My 6 Year Old Gets Frequent Headaches, Starting to Worry

I used to get migranes as a little kid. This is what it sounds like. I still get them, but very rarely. Are you watching his caffiene intake? I was sneaking caffiene and junk when i was little. I used to dip a spoon in the tang and iced tea mix and eat it.... gross i know! It would cause instant migranes. I would actually vomit. Now, i will get them if i over do coffee or iced tea. Just a thought. I would take him to the dr. I hope he gets relief soon :(

My oldest son had that issue in the afternoon/evenings ... we found it was a blood sugar issue, due to my husbands unusual work schedule we rarely eat before 7pm. So we started giving him a small snack around 4:30 - 5:00 pm.

I'd definitely see what the eye doc has to say first, if he needs glasses or such. If not then I'd get him in to see the pediatrician and see if there's something else going on.

This has been ongoing for a " couple of years"!!!!!!

Take the child to a Dr to find out why. The journal idea is great IF monitored by a Dr. It could be anything. I'd never wait a couple of years if my child had something questionable going on with her health.

Go to the Dr NOW

Sounds like migraines to me. Those are pretty much my symptoms...headaches "in my eyes" and also on the top of my head, and I get them in sunlight, from certain foods, and when I am tired. I also get migraines from caffeine and cheese.

I would get a referral to have him see a neurologist because they can determine whether or not they are migraines and suggest an appropriate treatment. It is not normal for a young child to have headaches. My oldest daughter has only had one migraine in her life, and I am praying she doesn't follow in my footsteps because mine affect my daily life rather severely.

Most preventative meds don't work for me and I'm not sure they are even safe for children (Imitrex, etc.) I take a combination of Toradol, Tramadol, Vicodin, Reglan, and Tylenol 3's when I have them...fortunately, I've eliminated all triggers I can (caffeine, foods, etc) and so I only have maybe one a week now and don't have to drug myself that much...but if I don't use medication, the pain gets so bad I vomit.

There are some studies being done on vitamin and mineral treatment for migraines...again, this is a question for a neurologist. Good luck!

First thing is to get him an eye exam. Second is talk to his pediatrician. some of this soudns like eye sight or fatigue but some of it sounds like migranes. My son started with them when he was turning 5. They happened a lot the first year and then reducsed in frequency but still occured. One time he vomitted at half-time of his soccer game and was good to go by the time half-time was over. They would come on hard and fast sometimes. Usually they will do a CT scan just to rule other causes out. It could also be sinus related.

I have been told by my daughter's pedi that if she wakes up with headaches, that's when we need to worry. You need to take him to his pediatrician so he can get checked out.

Good Luck!

Hi, it is a good idea to visit the optometrist & the pediatrician. You are so smart to track these things! They do sound like migraine headaches. I get them and one of my daughters gets them as well. She began having them at about 4. Over the years we have noted trigger points. The weather changes and she is at risk. Also, dehydration & hunger can bring them on. Good news is she is a teenager & they rarely bother her.
She takes Advil at the first sign of the headaches & drinks something with caffeine. The caffeine has been shown to less the headache.
Good luck to you & your little guy.

My first guess was he needs his eyes checked. Eye strain, lazy eye, etc. can cause headaches. My son complained for years on an off. Took him for an eye check when he was 5, was told he was fine. Took him again last month (11y old) and was told that one of his eyes isn't working properly and that he has monovision.

My second guess would be to talk to his pediatrician about getting a glucose map done. It may just be that he needs to eat more frequently.

Is he drinking enough water? Dehydration, even mild cases can cause headaches pretty easily. Since you mentions that he seems to get them when he's played outside. He may just be sensitive to getting headaches. I have always been that way. When I was younger was tested for low-blood sugar, and although I did not show any signs of it, It still helped me alot to eat 6 small meals a day. I would have to eat at snack at school between breakfast and lunch. As I've gotten older I get menstrual induced headaches for one week a month. Excedrine seems to take them away. But I find I can get headaches when I am more tired and dehydrated. Have him drink plenty of water everyday and see if that helps. Its an easy remedy to try. And not caffeine or sugar packed drinks either...good ole water is what the body needs. Remember your body is like 70% water and when its lacking then it struggles to function properly.

My son started having bad headaches right around 5 or 6 yrs old. He is 13 now and they are not as bad or as frequent. He would get 2 or 3 a week. We had his eyes checked first and they were fine, 20/20. Then I took him to his specialist and they asked a lot of questions, did a couple of exams and said they believed it was stress headaches. He did not have an aura that you usually have with migraines. We noticed that they were more frequent when he was sick, if he was outside all day-especially when it was really warm, and then later when he did not go outside a lot. It was really bad when he first got into puberty. Now not so bad, only once in a big while. Whem wetake him for exams, we revisit. They do think he was having growing pain headaches or migraines. And they are really bad when he does not get enough sleep. One thing you do want to do as he grows older. Watch how much interaction he has via tv, video, computer. While trying to find out about childhood headaches, I found research that said night time viewing can bering them on and these children tend to have more difficulty sleeping. We have a rule of no tech time after 7 so the kids can rest their minds.

My6 yr old son has migraines, has for several years. We had seen a neuro I wasn't thrilled with then got a reccomendation to see Stephen Linder at medical city Dallas. He is a pedi neuro but he only treats headaches. He spent over an hour with us at our first appt!!! We tried one preventativemed that made him mental so Dr Linder put him on a beta blocker and it's worked great. He also gave him imitrex and Advil and zofran when he gets a headache.

My first thought is the eye dr.

If that doesn't help, though, do not let it go. Although rare, my Godson had a benign brain tumor when he was 8. It had to be removed, along with his pituitary gland. (He's 19 and has had no recurrence of the tumor but does have on-going medications relating to the removal of the pituitary.)

Poor guy, it truly sounds like he's having migraines. I'd schedule a visit to his pediatrician as well.

You could try finding someone that does craniosacral therapy. I used to get 2 to 3 migraines a month and someone told me about craniosacral therapy and I didn't really think it would work but it does. I haven't had a migraine in about 6 months. I go to Dr. Amber Brooks in Addison. She has a lot of information on her website about craniosacral therapy. www.mychildwellness.com. I'm sure there are other people in the metroplex that do craniosacral but she is board certified in pediatrics.

I had the exact issue as a child, it only got worse as an adult. After going to a handful of doctors as an adult, I finally found the right one. My recommendation would be to take your son to an Allergist. Even the allergist didn't think that was the cause of my headaches, but it was. My bodies response to oat causes debilitating migrains exactly as you have described above. Taking it out of my diet has changed my life. I had tried to track my food myself, but could never connect the dots. I highly recommend Dr. Purnima Venkatesh at ###-###-####, its a haul if you live in Dallas but worth the drive! I have had a friend recommend Dr Byrd at Childrens Medical, you must have a referal to get in to him. Best of luck to your family, dealing with migraines at that age is tough.

More than likely it is an ocular headache and while it really hurts, it's not a terrible thing. My kid have had them but not quite as often as yours. I am surprised that no med person has diagnosed this yet. Look into it!

sounds like Migraines... I've had them for 35 years and my 12 yo has had them since he was 3. it is good to have the eyes checked to be sure they are not a contributing factor. find a regular Ped. who can help you follow this problem through to a end result. Hydration is a huge factor in migraines, so are hormones and barometric pressure. and of course foods. solving the problem will be a slow process and hopefully as he reaches puberty they will get better. I've never had aura and I didn't have nausea till I was in my late 40's and it is still rare. My son throws up easily but feels instantly better when he does, go figure? My son does well to take one dose of Advil if caught early, otherwise he throws it up... problem solved either way. lately Dehydration has caused most of my headaches, drinking lots of water solves the problem.

my best advice to anyone with migraines is to read and educate your self on as much as you can. you have to be your own, or in this case your sons own advocate. the more you know, the more you can guide your Dr to a solution. before I educated my self I mislead my Dr's without realizing it, which in the long run caused more headaches.

please feel free to PM me if you have any questions, migraines are often solved by process of elimination, and in many cases take time to solve... I've been trying for 35 yrs, but my sons aren't nearly so bad because of all I have learned. Good luck!

It sounds like it could be headaches from getting dehydrated. Does he drink plenty of water throughout the day, especially during active playtime? Eating a lot of salty foods will also contribute to being dehydrated as well. The next time he has a headache give him ice cold water to drink and put ice packs around his head and neck. I do this sometimes and my headache is gone within 15-20 minutes. Often headaches at the top of the head/forehead are tension or stress headaches and eye pain, it could very well be a vision issue causing the problem. Does he have problems with sinus or allergies? If he complains of tenderness through his forehead, nose and cheekbones then it could be something to do with that. Headaches toward the back of the head are usually caused my muscle strain. Massaging the neck, back and head should relieve headache pain.
Try not to worry about this. There are so many things that can cause headaches. Get it checked out, but often times it isn't anything serious.
I had to have two rounds of physical therapy because of overworking my trapezius muscle in my shoulder/upper back area. It caused horrible headache pain. Good luck and I hope the little guy feels better. Headaches suck!
ETA: if he is waking up with a headache, it could be how he is sleeping. I am a stomach and side sleeper, so sometimes I wake up with awful headaches because of neck strain. Make sure he has a good quality pillow that is flat rather than fluffy. Also good posture is key. If he tends to spend a lot of time on a computer or hunched over a lot this too can cause pain just from tensing or overworking other muscles.
HTH,
A.

I started having migraines at that age and that's exactly what they were like. I think you are doing the right thing with the journal and the appointment. If you are worried though always go with your mothers instinct and keep asking if you don't feel satisfied with the direction you get from the doctor.