Dr. Hive, daily headaches in dd4...

[Gentlemommy]

Because googling it is NOT helping. Since about March of this year, she's complained thatcher head hurts. I took her to the ped and she said allergies. Her nasal passages were almost swollen shut, we moved into a new neighborhood last year with a lot of foliage, and we haven't had a proper winter to kill off the pollen. There are a ton of seasonal allergies going on around here. Ped suggested Claritin, I've also been giving her a homeopathic tablet for allergies (Hylands).

 

However, the headaches continue. She describes them as in the forehead area, throbbing, and I notice they are mostly centered around when she is tired...during rest time, if we have a late night, ect.

 

I have an appointment with the dentist for Tuesday, because I suspect she has a cavity. I'm going to call her ped and the eye doctor tomorrow to make appointments.

 

I'm wondering what other things I need to worry about. Should I ask for a CT scan? An MRI? I do not want to put her through unnessecery medical tests, however, if it is something serious, knowing sooner would be better. Ugh. I'm so worried about my little girl. :(

[AK_Mom4]

DD11 had daily headaches when she was little. Turned out it was food allergies. In her case, potatos, rye, and barley (we did allergy testing). Things got much better once we stopped feeding her those.

[Mommyof4ks]

My son get migraines when he eats bananas, and he described his forehead hurting. Allergies seem to work in teams, and there seems to be a tipping point. He can eat one bananas and be fine, but if he eats one banana when he has seasonal allergies, then he gets a migraine. It is annoying, but at least we know to be vigilent when seasonal allergy times hit for him.

 

I would be more pushy with the doc if you are concerned.

[Desert Rat]

Claritin didn't work for my allergy kids. Are you trying Claritin in addition to homeo stuff, or just the homeo? If you are using Claritin, I'd try Zyrtec. It's what works for us.

 

Sinuses "settle" at night when in a prone position. Which is why she is having headaches at those times. Nature remedies: warm shower before bed and letting her clear out her sinuses (farmer blowing, ick, but effective). We also use Neil-Med Sinus Rinse but it might be hard on a 4yo. Elevate her head in bed by placing pillows between the box spring and mattress. Humidifiers sometimes help.

 

We have wicked allergies in our families. I have a history of migraines that are now triggered by sinus issues. We handle headaches almost every day here. These are some of the things that help. Sometimes all that helps me is sitting up and letting it drain. Ds9 likes the hot showers. He always feels better after the steam and heat.

 

I had migraines since the age of 2. By 10, I was in the ER 3 times a week for demerol. They were so bad the doctors thought brain tumor. Luckily, we got an all clear. I was able to get medicine to help after trying all the elimination diets to rule out dietary triggers. So, if you think it is more than allergies triggering the headaches, definitely check with your ped again.

[JennyD]

My DS7 was having a ton of headaches earlier this fall. I took him to the doctor and she found that like your DD, his nasal passages were completely clogged. She prescribed a steroidal nasal spray to be used several times a day and told me to call back in two weeks. It took maybe 3-4 days to see an improvement, but the headaches became much more infrequent and then went away entirely.

 

FWIW, the ped said that allergies are by far the the most common cause of headaches in the children she sees.

[Gentlemommy]

Ok, I feel much better. I'll definitely call her ped today and request further allergy testing.

[happypamama]

My oldest son is prone to headaches -- tired, hungry, thirsty, etc. -- he gets a headache. Zyrtec on high-pollen days and a nasal steroid for the winter seem to have helped a lot. Also, reading glasses helped a lot too.

 

Honestly, though, time helped too. I think a lot of the issue was that he still kind of needed a nap several days a week; even at 5, he'd fall asleep in the car if we were out in the afternoon. I think it was just hard for him to get through a whole day without a nap, and it would show up as a headache. As he's gotten older, there have been many fewer complaints of headaches, and I think that's because he can make it through a whole day without getting tired now (he's almost 8).

[Tiramisu]

We went through this. We were told to have dd avoid chocolate and cheese and to keep a diary of when the headaches occurred, what she had eaten, what other circumstances there were. We got an eye exam. We tried Claritin, which may have helped. The best connection we could find, though, was activity. She would get the headaches most often when she was physically active. We never did the MRI, but that was the next step. The CT scan is an alternative, but the MRI has no radiation so it seems to be preferred.