Medical Information from the Cleveland Clinic: Migraines and Headaches: Your Child's Headache

Kids get headaches and migraines, too! Many adults with headaches started having them as kids -- in fact, 20% of adult headache sufferers say their headaches started before age 10, and 50% report their headaches started before age 20.

How Common Are Headaches in Children and Adolescents?

Headaches are very common in children and adolescents. In one study, 56% of boys and 74% of girls between the ages of 12 and 17 reported having had a headache within the past month. By age 15, 5% of all children and adolescents have had migraines and 15% have had tension headaches.

Many parents worry that their child's headache is the sign of a brain tumor or serious medical condition, but most headaches in children and adolescents are not the result of a serious illness.

What Types of Headaches Do Children and Adolescents Get?

Children get the same types of headaches adults do, including: tension headaches, migraines, and sinus headaches.

What Causes Headaches in Children and Adolescents?

Children get headaches for many of the same reasons adults get headaches. But, most headaches in children are usually due to an illness, infection, cold or fever. Other conditions that can cause headaches include sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses), pharyngitis (inflammation or infection of the throat) or otitis (ear infection).

The exact causes of migraines are unknown, although they are related to changes in the brain as well as to genetic causes. For many years, scientists believed that migraines were linked to the expanding (dilation) and constriction (narrowing) of blood vessels on the brain's surface. However, it is now believed that migraines are caused by inherited abnormalities in certain areas of the brain.

Most children and adolescents (90%) who have migraines have other family members with migraines. When both parents have a history of migraines, there is a 70% chance that the child will also develop migraines. If only one parent has a history of migraines, the risk drops to 25%-50%. Children and adolescents with migraines may also inherit the tendency to be affected by certain migraine triggers, such as fatigue, bright lights, and changes in weather.

Some migraine triggers can be identified such as Stress, anxiety, depression, a change in routine or sleep pattern, bright light, loud noises or certain foods, food additives and beverages. Too much physical activity or too much sun can trigger a migraine in some children or adolescents.

Common causes of tension headaches include striving for academic excellence as well as emotional stress related to family, school or friends. Other causes of tension headaches include eyestrain and neck or back strain due to poor posture. Depression may also be a reason your child is having headaches.

When tension headaches worsen over time and occur along with other neurological symptoms such as loss of vision, or speech problems or muscle weakeness, they can be the sign of a more serious problem, such as:

• Hydrocephalus (abnormal build-up of fluid in the brain)
• Infection of the brain including:
• • Meningitis (an infection or inflammation of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord)
  • Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain)
  • Abscess
• Hemorrhage (bleeding within the brain)
• Tumor
• Blood clots
• Head trauma

If you suspect any of the above listed conditions, take your child to his or her doctor for evaluation.