ABOUT OUR KIDS 2

(Adapted from a children advice website in 2004)

Kids and Their HeadachesIn general, children suffer from the same types of headaches that plague adults. An infection in the body can cause a headache; so can medications a child is taking. Headaches also are a potential side effect of most medications.

There are many other potential causes for headaches as well. In young children, dental caries, ear infections and sinusitis can all cause pain that is described as a headache. Children also can suffer from migraine and tension-type headaches, commonly called tension or muscle contraction headaches.

The pounding, throbbing pain of migraine headaches probably afflicts some children early in life. If you have an infant or toddler, it's unlikely you'll be able to tell if he's experiencing migraines because he won't be able to tell you. One thing you might notice, however, is something called a migraine variant. One such migraine variant, called paroxysmal vertigo, affects toddlers. This is described as a sensation of spinning or whirling, which comes on suddenly and disappears in a matter of minutes.

Older children and adolescents suffer more visibly from migraine headaches: either migraine with aura or migraine without aura. The aura is a symptom that usually occurs before the onset of the pain itself. It's most often a visual symptom such as the perception of bright lights followed by black "holes" in the vision.

**To be continued.