Kid Getting Tension Headaches

Hi there,
I got these as a kid, too. The only way they would go away is if I was able to go to sleep. My parents took me to the doctor, but he found nothing wrong. Fast forward decades later, I still get them occasionally. What I've discovered is that I not only grind my teeth at night, but I clench my jaw. Both of these actions can create headaches. I even had major gum recession and had to have oral surgery (gum graph). Now I have invested in a bite/mouth guard to wear when I sleep.

Could this be what is going on with your son? Would be worth looking in to. Your dentist can tell you if there is grinding going on just by looking at his teeth. But like I said, it could also be jaw clenching, which I don't believe would show up on his teeth. Good luck.

I get migraines and mine usually last between 2-4 hours with severe pain and nausea. I usually treat asap with either Advil and/or something stronger, so I'm not sure how long it would last if I didn't. I would reconsider what kind of headache he's getting and see what you can give him right away next time to keep the severe symptoms at bay. If I treat a mild headache right away, I can usually keep it from getting terrible.

Mine are hormonal migraines. I wouldn't beat yourself up about this, headaches can happen for many reasons. I feel for him..and you. Hope you find some good ways to get his headaches under control.

I had them when I was being bullied (by the teacher no less) in the fourth grade. Once the stress was removed (she was removed from the school the next year) the headaches left.

Have you discussed all this with your doctor? Just because you have this doesn't mean that it's a given that your son has taken after you and has to suffer with these too. I'd for sure go over this with his doctor. It's important that he know about this.

Quite frankly, I'd be pretty worried about this for your son, if it were me.

Dawn

First of all, don't be so rough on yourself! Kids have stress even in the best of circumstances. It is a tough time for them, so his tension headaches may not have as much to do with what is stressing you out as you think.

I was mis-diagnosed with migraines when I was 11 years old. Many years later, I found out I was actually getting muscle-tension headaches. I have a very mild form of scoliosis, a self-correcting curve that was never deemed bad enough to need a brace, but does add to my muscle tension. When I was in my twenties, I went to a chiropractor. That helped a lot. That and paying closer attention to my diet and my headaches are now under control. Definitely talk to your son's doctor about his diet and physical health. Make sure there is not an underlying cause that needs to be addressed.

Also, make sure your child is not sleeping on his stomach. Once I stopped doing that, it cut down dramatically on the number of headaches I got. But no matter what you do, if he has a genetic predisposition to tension headaches, it is something you will be dealing with from time to time. The changes in his body, the hormones.... well, no one wants to see their child suffer, but sometimes you just have to hold onto them and ride it out.

Good luck!

Why is there mom guilt over this? You've got stresses in your life - so does everyone. But if there is a history of headaches in your family, it shouldn't be surprising that your kid has them. Throwing up is NOT a normal part of a regular ordinary headache. Just because it went away in 3 hours doesn't mean it's not a migraine. A friend of mine had these issues as a child - throwing up, passing out, etc. - and also had a family history of migraines. I wouldn't think it would get better on its own. I work with a lot of people who have had these problems and there is a solution developed by food scientists so if that approach interests you, I can give you info. My friend is a kindergarten teacher, and on top of her own headaches (now completely gone for about 10 years), she is seeing a lot more illnesses and problems in her students. They have all kinds of diseases that used to be exclusive to adults - exactly what you're seeing in headaches. There's a huge change going on in our kids, and this is the first generation that will not live longer than their parents if something fundamental doesn't change. Happy to consult with you further and actually my friend would talk to you too.

I had migraines as young as 4 - I remember being in preschool and crying because "my head hurt" and then vomiting and my mom coming to get me. So yes, I believe your son is getting them - and because of the vomiting, are you sure they're not migraines?

Don't beat yourself up. Just go have him checked out and referred to a specialist if the peds think it's necessary. Do you give tylenol or ibuprofen for the pain? If so, check with the doc to make sure you're giving the correct dosage for his weight. Sometimes they can be bumped up in the dosing due to their weight vs. what the bottle says.

Good luck and hope he doesn't have many more. They suck.

My son had migraines from an early age. Lights off, sleep for a few hours and good to go.

Did you take him to the Doctor just to make sure???? or to rule out anything else?

Or try pressure points.
Massaging certain points on the body.
Here locally in Hawaii, just because of the many Asian cultures here, many do that.

Will a kids' dose of Advil help?

Oh no. Poor baby. (Both of you, really.) I started getting migraines when I was about 11, and that seemed early. Luckily, I grew out of them. I heard a fascinating radio program on NPR not too long ago about headaches in both adults and children. You may want to listen to it to shed some light on this subject for you. I had no idea migraines were hereditary, nor did I know that those of us who have them, actually have brains that function differently than most people's. Hope it helps you...it's not all about migraines, they also talk about the difference between those and regular headaches. Click the link below and then click the little purple "listen" icon on the top left above the picture.

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-08-16/living-migra...

Hope your little one kicks them soon!

I was getting headaches starting at 5 and then full blown migraines by age 7. The best thing for me to do was to turn all the lights off, cuddle up in bed and sleep for a little while. When I'd get up, I would be good to go again. Try getting him an eye mask and see if that helps too.

It is not uncommon for children to get them, but I would take him to the doctor just to make sure there isn't some underlying reason why exactly he would be getting them at such a young age.