Babies get headaches too! 12 signs your child might be suffering from one

Do you know that your baby can get headaches too? Read on to know more about it.

What can you read in this article?

• How would you know if your baby has a headache?
• Signs and symptoms to look out for
• Cure for baby’s headache

As adults, we’re no strangers to headaches. We get that occasional throbbing from time to time, usually from stress at work or a hangover. We usually know what to do about it when it happens.

But did you know that babies can get a headache too?

How would you know if your baby is having a headache? Does your baby cry a lot without any obvious reason? Baby headaches can come without us even knowing, sometimes.

Unlike grownups and big kids who can say when they’re not feeling well, babies cannot fully express or articulate how they’re feeling most of the time.

So how can you tell if your little one is having a headache? And what can we do to help them when this happens? It’s not like we can just give them some paracetamol and be done with it.

Here’s how you can identify if your baby is having a headache and how to treat them.

Do babies get headaches?

The answer is yes. Just like adults, babies and children do get headaches too. However, they may not be the same experience as an adult and how they react to a headache could be a lot different to you.

Baby headaches – what are the symptoms and signs to look out for?

Depending on the age of your child and what’s causing the headache, the symptoms will vary.

A very young baby won’t be able to show that they are having one, and even younger children, who can speak and show hand gestures may not know that it’s their head that is hurting.

Neonatal Infant Pain Scale

Because babies are unable to express themselves to let us know when they are in pain, pediatricians developed the Neonatal-Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) to help assess when a child is in pain.

It is a behavioral scale and can be utilized with both full-term and pre-term infants. The tool was adapted from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale and uses the behaviors that nurses have described as being indicative of infant pain or distress. It is composed of six (6) indicators.

According to RN.com, Each behavioral indicator is scored with 0 or 1 (except “cry”, which has three possible descriptors and is scored with a 0, 1 or 2). A score greater than 3 indicates pain. Infants should be observed for at least one minute in order to fully assess each indicator.

Here are the usual signs of headache in young children and babies that you should watch out for:

• Crying
• Holding their head, or attempting to
• Being fussy and irritable
• Waking in the middle of the night
• Banging their head
• Pulling at their ear
• Poor appetite or not feeding properly
• Having low energy
• Being sensitive to light

Meanwhile, here are the different symptoms and types of headaches your baby might be experiencing:

1. Migraine

According to Norton’s Children’s website, while migraines usually occur in teens and young adults, it can also start early in life and have been reported in about 3% of preschool-age children.

Migraines have also been reported to occur in infants and toddlers too. Some researchers even believe that colic might be a sign of a migraine in newborns, or it can be a warning sign for migraines later on.

Usually, migraines in children last for up to three days and can occur for only two hours at a time. Oftentimes, children may just want to sleep because of the headache. The time spent sleeping should be included as part of the duration of the migraine. Here are the other signs of migraines in babies:

• Vomiting
• Stomach ache
• Sensitivity to light or sound – because they are unable to express what they’re feeling, the baby can just point to the light or a darker room to show you that she wants to stay there.
• Severe pain that grows worse with any physical activity
• Your baby may constantly cry and hold or point at his head to show discomfort

2. Stress-Related Headache:

• A constant pain (which can manifest in crying over prolonged periods of time, clutching their head in pain)
• A pain that affects the sides of the head

3. A Cluster Headache:

• The headache can occur once or up to eight times a day. It can last between 15 minutes and 3 hours.
• A runny nose
• Watery eyes
• Congestion in the nose
• Restlessness

Causes of baby’s headaches

Just like adults, there are many reasons babies may get a headache. Some of these include:

• Stress or anxiety. 

Even babies get stressed too, like when they can’t express what they want or when they are away from their mom.

• Hunger. 

According to Healthy Children.org, about 30% of people get a headache when they are hungry. Babies are not an exemption from this. But headache due to hunger usually goes away within 30 minutes of eating something.

• Teething. 

Teething can be painful for some babies and the pain can sometimes reach the jaw and head area. It usually happens between the baby’s 7th to 12th month.

• Dehydration. 

If your child doesn’t get enough water and electrolytes, this causes their blood pressure to drop and there will be a shortage of fluid to transport nutrients to the brain and organs. Brain matter shrinks and pulls away from your child’s skull, causing a headache.

• Illness and infection.

Common illnesses such as colds, flu, and ear and sinus infections are some of the most common causes of headaches in children. In rare cases, meningitis or encephalitis may cause headaches.

• Head trauma.

If your child bumps his head or suffers a blow to the head, he may have a headache. While most head injuries are minor, seek immediate medical attention if your child falls hard on his head or gets hit hard in the head.

A headache is often a sign of a concussion. Also, contact your child’s pediatrician if his headache continues to get worse after a head injury.

• Genetics.

Headaches, particularly migraines, tend to run in families.

• Certain foods and beverages.

Nitrates — a food preservative found in cured meats, such as bacon and hotdogs — can trigger headaches. The flavor enhancer MSG can also cause headaches if consumed in large amounts. Also, too much caffeine that can be found in soda, chocolates, coffees, and teas can also cause headaches.

• Problems in the brain.

In rare cases, a brain tumor or abscess, or bleeding in the brain can press on areas of the brain, causing pain in the region of the head. Along with the headache are other symptoms such as visual problems, dizziness, and lack of coordination.

Meningitis is the bacterial infection of the membrane that covers the spinal cord and brain. One of the main symptoms of this disease is headache, along with stiff neck, confusion, and fever.

In young children, you may notice them being lethargic or so irritable that they can’t be consoled. If not treated early, the child can suffer from brain damage.

READ MORE:

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Remedy for baby’s headache

According to a previous article, here are some tips to help ease the baby’s headache.

• If your child is experiencing mild headaches, try letting him sleep in a quiet and slightly darkened room. You can put a cool washcloth over your child’s eyes or forehead. They will recover within an hour or two.
• If complaints of a headache are still persistent even after taking a nap, give a single dose of paracetamol. The pain should go away after a while. There are medications like paracetamol or suppositories available for babies. Make sure you get them from your pediatrician (with the right dose according to your baby’s weight) and for emergency use only. Remember, babies under 3 months old should not be medicated without consulting with your pediatrician first.
• Make sure your baby is feeding well and on time to avoid headaches caused by hunger. Getting enough rest and staying physically active is also important.

Addition:

• Avoid dehydration by drinking lots of water or fluids, and breastfeeding if your child is below 6 months.
• If your child’s headache is accompanied by vision problems, make sure to visit an eye doctor immediately.
• You can also try giving him a warm bath to relax him and make him feel better.
• Avoid vigorous swaying or bouncing. Play with the baby some other time and focus on keeping him calm.
• Keep a headache diary. Try observing and recording the times your child gets a headache, how often it happens and what usually triggers it.
• Stay away from migraine triggers. If your child’s headache is triggered by bright lights or noise, try to lessen your child’s exposure to them. Dim the lights or transfer the baby to a quiet room. Being overly stimulated may also contribute to your child’s headache.

If your child complains of frequent and recurring headaches, it is best to consult a doctor immediately. Usually, a headache in children especially if accompanied by vomiting is often a red flag that something is seriously wrong. Therefore, you should head to the doctor or emergency room immediately.

What to do if baby bumps his head?

The first thing to do if a baby falls on his head or bumps his head on something is not to panic. Soothe your baby if he is crying. Let him sit down and rest. Get an ice pack to place on the affected area for 20 minutes to reduce external swelling and pain.

Next is to assess the severity of the fall or the accident. Then observe how your baby is acting. Check for changes in the size of his pupils. Then monitor baby while sleeping or taking naps.

According to Healthline, if you notice the following signs and symptoms, don’t hesitate to bring your child to the hospital:

• uncontrolled bleeding from a cut
• a dent or bulging soft spot on the skull
• excessive bruising and/or swelling
• vomiting more than once
• unusual sleepiness and/or difficulty staying alert
• loss of consciousness or not responding to voice/touch
• blood or fluid draining from the nose or ears
• a seizure
• a suspected neck/spinal cord injury
• trouble breathing

When to be concerned?

Headaches can be difficult to spot in your baby. What you dismiss as simple crying or irritability could be a sign of discomfort.

Make sure you pay attention to the symptoms and go to the doctor immediately in the following situations:

1. If the headache is so severe that your baby is unable to sleep.
2. When the pain causes a change in your baby’s mood and personality.
3. If there’s no improvement after giving pain relief for more than two days.
4. When the pain becomes worse and the baby is more fussy than usual.
5. If you see a noticeable increase in the intensity of the headache.
6. When the headache strikes after an injury or a fall.
7. If incessant vomiting accompanies a headache.
8. When you notice a widespread purple or blood-colored rash on the body.

Another thing to remember – have a lot of patience for the baby when she’s not feeling well. It’s bad enough that she’s feeling pain, it’s even worse that she can’t express it. If your child is not feeling well, take this opportunity to cuddle with her and take a nap.

Headaches are not the common signs and symptoms that a baby displays when she is sick. So when you notice them, inform your pediatrician right away.

Originally published by theAsianparent Singapore

Additional information by Camille Eusebio

Source:

Mayo Clinic, HealthyChildren, theAsianparent Singapore

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