Kids face a lot of stress and that can cause tension headaches, but they also can have migraines or cluster headaches, as well as headaches that are a side effect of medication or a symptom of anything from strep throat to a serious disease.
The American Council for Headache Education estimates that 4-5% of children have migraines (the Mayo Clinic puts the figure at 2.5-22%), and that 20% of adults who have migraines say they had their first one before the age of 10, or even younger. Before puberty there are as many boys with migraines as girls, but after that the girls surge ahead. Migraines may stop in early adulthood, then return in middle age.
The Journal of the American Medical Association states that more than 8 million kids have migraines. Migraines cause more than 1 million lost school days annually; in fact, headaches are one of the main reasons for absence from school.
The shocker is that kids as young as 2 can have migraines. Obviously a toddler can't tell you what's wrong, but he may vomit, turn pale, cry, or just be irritable. Young children tend to have more abdominal symptoms with migraines than adults, but they also get over them quicker than adults.
Since 90% of kids with migraines have a family history of them, parents in migraine families should watch for symptoms. Other than that, when should parents seek a pediatrician's advice?
If a child has a headache when she dreads a test or he's bringing home a note from the teacher about a fight on the playground, not to worry. Those are tension headaches everyone has and they're not dangerous.
However, if a child has frequent headaches, the pediatrician should be consulted. For example, once a month or more during a period of several months for a preteen would be cause for concern, but on the other hand, an adolescent could easily have that many tension headaches due to stress, so parents need to consider age, severity, and whether other symptoms are present.
Another possible cause of headaches in children is a vision problem. I remember having headaches as a high school sophomore. When a new semester started, I was seated more toward the rear of a classroom than usual, and realized I couldn't see the blackboard clearly. My first day at school with eyeglasses was traumatic, especially when my boyfriend said they were ugly, but I was thrilled that I could see. In one of my wiser teenage moments, I dumped the boyfriend and kept the glasses.
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