The child has a headache, the child has a headache

The most common types of “pain” in children are abdominal pain, ear pain, and headaches. Often headaches are associated with a viral infection. In more than 90% of cases, the pediatrician can identify the cause of the pain after examining the child and reviewing his medical history. In-depth research is necessary in extreme cases; a headache rarely indicates a serious illness. Typically, a child will have a headache if he is hungry and will go away after eating, resting, and recovering from a viral infection. Paracetamol can relieve pain.

URGENT CARE

Call an ambulance if your child has a headache and:

He cannot lift his head while lying on his back
Temperature is more than 39 C and does not decrease after taking paracetamol
Vomiting, but no stool upset; unnatural drowsiness
Loss of coordination

THE DOCTOR'S CONSULTATION

Contact your pediatrician if:

the child complains of a headache and has a fever
headache occurred after a head injury
A child under 4 years of age complains of headache

ATTENTION!

If headaches occur frequently (more than once a month); the child often wakes up with a headache; there are frequent signs of severe headache or vomiting - consult your pediatrician. We need to find out the reason.

ASK YOURSELF A QUESTION	POSSIBLE REASON	WHAT TO DO
Did a child of the 2nd year of life fall or hurt himself, but did not lose consciousness?	Minor injury (falls common for this age rarely cause serious injury)	Create a calm environment for your child to sleep; give paracetamol. If the pain does not go away, continues for more than an hour, or gets worse, call an ambulance immediately.
Does your child have a fever, stuffy nose, runny nose, sore throat, sneezing, dry cough?	ARVI (cold); sore throat, possibly streptococcal	A headache often accompanies a cold, increasing general malaise. Call the pediatrician . Give paracetamol to reduce fever and relieve symptoms.
Does your child have a headache, often have a stuffy nose, runny nose, or pain in the nasal area? Does he sleep well? Irritable and lethargic?	Sinusitis; tooth disease	Talk to your child's doctor . He will examine the child and prescribe the necessary examinations. If the cause of the pain is sinusitis, treatment will be prescribed. If necessary, the pediatrician will refer the child to the dentist.
Does your child complain of prolonged, aching pain, a feeling of a dull “hoop” around the head?	Stress	Give paracetamol to reduce pain. If such cases recur, seek advice from your pediatrician . Try to eliminate the cause of stress, establish a proper daily routine
Does the headache occur when the child eats ice cream, drinks cold drinks, etc.?	Increased sensitivity to cold	Sometimes pain may occur when cold food touches the soft palate. This is not a dangerous condition. If it bothers you, avoid cold foods.
Does a headache occur when your child reads or looks at something at close range for a long time? Does he blink and squint frequently? Does his back and neck hurt after working at his desk?	Eye strain; furniture does not suit height	Talk to your child's doctor . He will examine the child and, if necessary, refer him to an ophthalmologist . Check whether the height of the chair or table is appropriate for the child's height.
Is your temperature moderate to high? Severe headache, vomiting? Drowsiness, disorientation? Are neck movements painful? (not always in children under 1 year of age)	Meningitis	Call an ambulance immediately
Are your headaches becoming more frequent and severe? Lost coordination? Do you vomit frequently? Does your child wake up at night with a headache?	Possible serious illness	Contact your child's doctor immediately . He will examine the child and prescribe the necessary examinations. You may need to consult a neurologist .

FOR INFORMATION

Migraine in children

If the child has frequent headaches characterized by at least three of the following features: throbbing pain, usually one-sided; accompanied by nausea and/or vomiting; abdominal pain; the child complains of blurred vision, flashes before the eyes, numbness in the limbs; relief comes after sleep; there is a hereditary predisposition - this allows one to suspect migraine. Typically, migraine attacks in children are not very severe and are easy to treat. In more than half of children, migraines disappear after 10 years. Attacks can be triggered by hormonal changes, intolerance to any food, stress, and other reasons. The pediatrician will make a diagnosis and recommend treatment. Keeping a journal can help you identify triggers and avoid them. At the first sign of an attack, take the child to a quiet, darkened room and give paracetamol. If you reassure your child that headaches are not caused by a dangerous disease, attacks may become less frequent.

Pediatrician appointment prices:


TYPES OF MEDICAL SERVICES	Cost, rub.
Examination of a child by a pediatrician to obtain a certificate + certificate	1950
Visit of a pediatrician, consultation at home (Moscow)	5400
Consultation with a pediatrician at home for the second child	1950
Patronage for a newborn / gymnastics and swimming at home (1 session, pediatrician Kapina A.V.)	6300

“Throat and stomach hurt,” or what do you know about adenovirus

During seasonal ARVI, cough and sore throat are an “expected” phenomenon. But what if traditional respiratory symptoms are combined with diarrhea or vomiting? Perhaps it is an adenoviral infection.

Special signs

Adenovirus, unlike many respiratory viruses, affects not only the respiratory tract, but also the mucous membrane of the small intestine. In addition, the conjunctiva of the eye comes under attack.

It leads to:

copious mucous discharge from the nose,
sore and sore throat,
cough (first dry, and later with sputum),
symptoms of conjunctivitis, such as redness of the eyes, watery eyes, a feeling of dryness and “sand” in the eyes,
as well as abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting
and fever, the duration of which can reach 2 weeks.

Moreover, if intestinal symptoms may not develop during the entire infection, then the “characteristic” eyes are an important distinguishing feature of the adenovirus.

Where can you get infected?

Adenovirus is extremely infectious and resistant in the external environment. And the source of infection can be sick people or household items on which the virus remains active for up to 8 days.

You can become infected:

when the patient coughs and sneezes,
consuming food prepared without sanitary standards (thorough hand washing is required),
and even through contact with the feces of an infected person (for example, when changing a diaper for an infected child).

You can “catch” the virus even in a swimming pool if the water is not properly disinfected. And, obviously, this viral infection is not uncommon in children's groups.

How dangerous is this?

Adenovirus infection, in most cases, does not pose a threat to health or life. And it usually ends without consequences after 7-14 days. Whereas in weakened patients, the infection can drag on and reach 6 weeks.

This same category of patients most often develop complications in the form of:

pneumonia,
otitis,
bronchospasm
severe keratoconjunctivitis.

However, Rospotrebnazor experts note that complications of adenoviral infection are always associated with the addition of pathogenic bacterial flora (staphylococci, streptococci and others).

How to identify adenovirus

The classic symptoms of adenoviral infection, as a rule, do not require additional tests. And the help of laboratory diagnostic methods is mainly resorted to at the earliest stage of the infectious process or in case of doubt about the diagnosis.

The most informative analysis in this case is PCR diagnostics of the material (throat swab or feces) for adenovirus.

The study can be ordered separately or immediately in combination with other ARVI viruses (for example, “ARVI-Screen”), which will allow you to immediately carry out a differential diagnosis. True, the PCR technique sharply loses its reliability if treatment, both local (rinses, sprays) and general, has already begun.

A blood test for IgA antibodies to adenovirus does not have these shortcomings.

They appear in the blood during the initial period of the disease, and continue to circulate for some time after recovery.

However, children, as you know, “don’t like” blood tests, so this examination format is more suitable for adults.

Pediatricians:

Avzalova Daria Evgenevna

Pediatrician, neonatologist
Experience: 18 years Reviews: 7

Call to home

Barzenok Tatyana Arsenyevna

Head of the pediatric department, pediatrician of the first category
Experience: 28 years Reviews: 17