GSOchristie Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 My almost three year old woke up this morning complaining of a headache. I took her temperature, no fever, gave her some Advil and she played all morning. After lunch I noticed she had gotten her paci and was lying on the sofa in the playroom. She said her head hurt again and when I asked her where, she pointed at the back. I took her temp again, still no fever, and put her down from a nap. She is not a big drinker, so I called my dh and asked him if she had drunk anything on the lake yesterday. He said barely, and she had eaten almost a sleeve of graham crackers. She hasn't had anything to drink today that I can think of, she always has fluid available (sippy of milk in the fridge and sippy of water with her, one on each floor of our house) but she rarely drinks. Would you be concerned? I don't think any of my kids have ever complained of a headache. I gave her a sippy of half juice and half water and made her drink all of it before the nap. I called my ped and am waiting for a nurse to call back. Is this panic worthy? I tend to be overly anxious about things, but I don't want to ignore something significant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Oh, and she's fully vaxed, including flu this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Headaches can certainly be due to dehydration, even mild dehydration. I would push fluids before taking any other steps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I agree with Mrs Mungo. Dehydration gives me a hideous headache, and if I don't catch it at that stage can make me horribly dizzy. Drinking sufficient fluids always gets rid of it. Fluids and a nap sound like exactly the right thing to do to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I would also think dehydration, especially if she was outside playing a lot yesterday. Do her lips or the inside of her mouth feel dry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8circles Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Could be all sorts of totally normal things. Don't panic. Just wait for the doc. to call back. We had a similar situation last year with my then-9 year-old. Turns out he had a sinus infection that was too deep to have any other symptoms - dx with CT scan. I know how panicky it can feel but really, don't panic. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Probably dehydration. I have had headaches as long as I can remember. I was 3 or 4 when they started. I'm actually laying in bed with one right now. I am fine. Some people are prone to headaches. If this becomes common, keep some pedialyte or emergency-c or something on hand for electrolyte replacement. Remind her to drink frequently. A little ice pack will help alleviate the pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Another guess of dehydration here. Whenever I complain of a headache my husband reminds me to drink some water and I laugh because he's always right and I always forget that's the cause in my case! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 A test for meningitis is to see if she can touch her chin to her chest. If not, I would take her in. Fluids would be good no matter what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 have them do a strep test just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinchick Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 have them do a strep test just in case. Yes, this. DD had strep last week and it presented as a headache with no other symptoms on the first day. The next day she said she just felt miserable. I specifically asked about sore throat and she said no. No fever, either. Took her to the ped just because we had a window of time and I didn't want the illness to drag into the next week. Much to my surprise the throat culture came up positive for strep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Good news, sort of, my ped called back and went through a series of questions with me and advised me that I could definitely wait until tomorrow to see how it progressed as long as the pain didn't become excruciating, she didn't become disoriented, and was not throwing up. If she still has it in the morning we are going to take her in. She woke up from her nap and the headache was gone but she now has a slight fever and a runny nose, so I'm guessing she's coming down with something and she was dehydrated. I'm going to watch her closely tonight and take her in the morning if she's not better. Thanks for the reassurance and ideas :). Off to make her touch her chin to her chest, just to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Yes, I would have guessed dehydration or just extra tiredness as well. I have one child who gets headaches easily -- coming down with something, overly tired, dehydrated, looked at books or screen too long, rode in the car, etc. It just seems that his body's response to stuff is to get a headache. (We did get him some glasses, which help a ton, especially with books/screens, but he will still get a headache if he's tired or dehydrated.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Do you have any popsicles? Too much sugar won't help her dehydration, but sometimes something sweet can help trigger thirst and help her start drinking fluids again. I hope she feels better very soon! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Still no headache, so I'm guessing dehydration. She is running a low fever (99.2-99.4). The super weird thing is she hasn't been anywhere. She was with her dad all day yesterday on the lake, and we stayed home Friday and Saturday. I bought her a new tricycle at a consignment sale, and I'm wondering if someone who was sick had been touching it there while their parents shopped. The popsicle is a good idea because she always (even when not sick) acts like you are torturing her to get her to drink. My other two are guzzlers so it's just so strange for me to have to constantly ask her to drink her water, if I don't she gets super constipated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Not sure how the time stamp on these posts work but I noticed your initial post was 10:13 a.m. If a kid had not had anything to drink prior to 10 a.m., I would be betting on dehydration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 The time stamps are dependent upon the reader's location. The time stamp of the OP for me is 8:13 am. Just a general FYI. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Well, actually, she didn't have anything to drink until 11:00. I gave her a sippy of water when she woke up and milk with breakfast, but she didn't drink either (which is not unusual for her). Usually I have to ride her about drinking, remind her to drink some water every hour (of which she will take two sips and then cry and say she can't). We had a friend over to play with my son this morning so I was distracted and didn't check her water cup to make sure she was drinking. I had to force her to drink the water with juice, even though she must have been dying of thirst, she kept saying, "I can't dwink any more." Is this a weird symptom of something? I never really thought to bring it up to her ped, she's always been a non-drinker. She is also not much of an eater, which our ped does know, she will sometimes go a full 24 hours and eat only half an apple or banana, like from breakfast to breakfast. She stays on about the 7th percent growth curve so he isn't concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplemom Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Still no headache, so I'm guessing dehydration. She is running a low fever (99.2-99.4). The super weird thing is she hasn't been anywhere. She was with her dad all day yesterday on the lake, and we stayed home Friday and Saturday. I bought her a new tricycle at a consignment sale, and I'm wondering if someone who was sick had been touching it there while their parents shopped. The popsicle is a good idea because she always (even when not sick) acts like you are torturing her to get her to drink. My other two are guzzlers so it's just so strange for me to have to constantly ask her to drink her water, if I don't she gets super constipated. The 99.4 isn't typically a fever, a fever that that would be more a concern of being a virus is usually over 100.4, some say 100.0. However, dehydration can cause a slight elevation in average body temp, which would explain the low 99s temp. Hope she feels better, and doesn't get a fever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 The low temp can be a symptom of dehydration. My ds was/is horrible about getting dehydrated, having headaches and low fevers. Push the fluids.. I would let her have straight juice, if she wants, to get as much liquid in her as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 if a child (or anyone) is reluctant to drink, fluids can be given in other things. Like pieces of watermelon, soup, and jelly (I think you guys call it jello?) . Learned this when I worked in aged care. The elderly also often have trouble not having enough fluids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 They also make Pedialyte freezer pops or you can freeze the liquid in your own mold. I've used both for DS before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 The 99.4 isn't typically a fever, a fever that that would be more a concern of being a virus is usually over 100.4, some say 100.0. However, dehydration can cause a slight elevation in average body temp, which would explain the low 99s temp. Hope she feels better, and doesn't get a fever. I think it was the dehydration, we pushed fluids on her all day yesterday and she spent much of the day watching movies in my bed. I woke her up at about 9:30 last night to give her more and she ate some graham crackers and a popsicle. She has been fine today, in fact, she has drunk a ton (for her) three full sippys of water and one whole cup of milk, so maybe she just forgot what thirsty felt like and now she knows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaddon Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Oh no :( I wonder if she's getting ready to have a fever. Also, mine have trouble with sinus pressure due to allergies or shifts in the weather, could it be that? Also mucus will cause pressure. I would just give water, it will help with dehydration or clear out mucus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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