.

Chapters

0:00 Introduction
0:29 what red flags should you look out for
1:29 Symptoms of Pediatric Headaches
2:15 Treatment for Pediatric Headaches





Headache is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache.[1][2] There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches.[3]

Headaches can occur as a result of many conditions. There are a number of different classification systems for headaches. The most well-recognized is that of the International Headache Society, which classifies it into more than 150 types of primary and secondary headaches. Causes of headaches may include dehydration; fatigue; sleep deprivation; stress;[4] the effects of medications (overuse) and recreational drugs, including withdrawal; viral infections; loud noises; head injury; rapid ingestion of a very cold food or beverage; and dental or sinus issues (such as sinusitis).[5]

Treatment of a headache depends on the underlying cause, but commonly involves pain medication (especially in case of migraine or cluster headache).[6] A headache is one of the most commonly experienced of all physical discomforts.[7]

About half of adults have a headache in a given year.[3] Tension headaches are the most common,[7] affecting about 1.6 billion people (21.8% of the population) followed by migraine headaches which affect about 848 million (11.7%).[8] There are more than 200 types of headaches. Some are harmless and some are life-threatening. The description of the headache and findings on neurological examination, determine whether additional tests are needed and what treatment is best.[9]

Headaches are broadly classified as "primary" or "secondary".[10] Primary headaches are benign, recurrent headaches not caused by underlying disease or structural problems. For example, migraine is a type of primary headache. While primary headaches may cause significant daily pain and disability, they are not dangerous from a physiological point of view. Secondary headaches are caused by an underlying disease, like an infection, head injury, vascular disorders, brain bleed, stomach irritation, or tumors. Secondary headaches can be dangerous. Certain "red flags" or warning signs indicate a secondary headache may be dangerous.[11]
Primary

Ninety percent of all headaches are primary headaches.[12] Primary headaches usually first start when people are between 20 and 40 years old.[13][14] The most common types of primary headaches are migraines and tension-type headaches.[14] They have different characteristics. Migraines typically present with pulsing head pain, nausea, photophobia (sensitivity to light) and phonophobia (sensitivity to sound).[15] Tension-type headaches usually present with non-pulsing "bandlike" pressure on both sides of the head, not accompanied by other symptoms.[16][17] Such kind of headaches maybe further classified into-episodic and chronic tension type headaches[18] Other very rare types of primary headaches include:[11]

cluster headaches: short episodes (15–180 minutes) of severe pain, usually around one eye, with autonomic symptoms (tearing, red eye, nasal congestion) which occur at the same time every day. Cluster headaches can be treated with triptans and prevented with prednisone, ergotamine or lithium.
trigeminal neuralgia or occipital neuralgia: shooting face pain
hemicrania continua: continuous unilateral pain with episodes of severe pain. Hemicrania continua can be relieved by the medication indomethacin.
primary stabbing headache: recurrent episodes of stabbing "ice pick pain" or "jabs and jolts" for 1 second to several minutes without autonomic symptoms (tearing, red eye, nasal congestion). These headaches can be treated with indomethacin.
primary cough headache: starts suddenly and lasts for several minutes after coughing, sneezing or straining (anything that may increase pressure in the head). Serious causes (see secondary headaches red flag section) must be ruled out before a diagnosis of "benign" primary cough headache can be made.
primary exertional headache: throbbing, pulsatile pain which starts during or after exercising, lasting for 5 minutes to 24 hours. The mechanism behind these headaches is unclear, possibly due to straining causing veins in the head to dilate, causing pain. These headaches can be prevented by not exercising too strenuously and can be treated with medications such as indomethacin.