11-year-old 3 days of headach

[kjsanders19]

My 11-year-old daughter has been suffering from a severe headache for 3 days now.  She has light and sound sensitivity.  The pediatrician gave her Fioricet.  She had 2 pills yesterday and 1 today.  Now she is having other neurological symptoms such as slurring speech.  She is dizzy, can't walk straight at times.  Do you think there is more going on here.  She had the Fioricet at 7:30 a.m. and the new symptoms started at about 3 p.m.

[marileew]

Hi there, me again...

This isn't really to the original poster... as I already gave her my advice and that still stands.

But, I just felt I had to say this because it is really important for people to understand what counts as an emergency situation (even though it usually turns out not to be an emergency after all) and when they should seek immediate medical attention (as was the case in this situation).

Also, I think it's important for any parent reading this to read... because I've read a lot of parents posting asking what they should do regarding their children's (new or unusual) severe headaches and there is really only one answer: immediate medical attention (often an Urgent Care Centre).

My government gives every citizen a handy guide called a "Health Guide" to use to help them prevent illnesses, treat illness at home and to figure out when to go to the doctor and when to seek emergency treatment. My government did this in order to stop people from "overusing" of the medical system since in my country, the government pays for the medical care (through taxes). So, if the book tells you to go to the ER, you really don't have to feel like you are making a mistake going to the ER... because, that's what you are Supposed to do. This is what it says about headaches that fit the symptoms that the 11-year old daughter has (I have also included symptoms that might apply to her situation or might not.. since I don't know all the details):

Under the section for "Headaches"

Do you have any of the following symptoms that require emergency treatment? Call 911 or other emergency services immediately.

- Sudden, severe pain and is the worst headache you have ever had
- Confusion or change in behaviour
- Change in level of consciousness
- Sudden vision change, such as dimness, blurring, double vision, or loss of vision in one or both eyes (unless this always happens with your migraine headaches)
- Sudden, persistent difficulty speaking or difficulty understanding speech

Call your health professional immediately if you answer "Yes" to any of the following questions.

- Does your child have a headache with other symptoms of a serious illness?
- Does your child have severe headache pain?

Call your health professional today if you answer "Yes" to the following question.

- Are you unable to relieve your child's moderate headache with home treatment?

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I have first aid training and this pretty much exactly the same as what we learned in first aid training (I took the course that included pediatric first aid and it's no different for kids in this situation... a severe headache with slurred speech is a severe headache with slurred speech).

In fact... As a first aider, if I was in Quebec and I saw an 11 year old with the symptoms described (and the parent was not present or was present and gave consent) and I did not call 911 immediately after going through the initial first aid routine, I could be held legally accountable for my non-action because I did the wrong thing... a trained first aider would know to call 911 in such a situation.  

I cannot stress enough the importance of taking a child in severe pain to get immediate treatment if the child is in severe pain. And, I can also not stress enough the importance of getting emergency care, that means taking a child to the emergency room or calling 911, if the child has a severe headache along with neurological symptoms that they have never had before... such as slurred speech.

ER triage admitting protocol has severe headaches very high at the top of the triage list... and severe headaches with neurological symptoms even higher (pretty much higher than anything).

And as my government's handy little books make it clear that it's okay to go to the ER in such a situation, even though 99% of the time it's "just" going to turn out to be a regular boring old headache. And... that's a good thing. It's sort of like an umbrella you know... if you take the umbrella, it doesn't rain and you're stuck carrying around an umbrella all day... so what, it's just an umbrella, big deal. If you forget your umbrella, it rains, and you get wet. It's a whole lot better to go and find out there is absolutely nothing wrong.

Also, I don't believe that any child should suffer severe pain for three days straight when an ER doctor can probably make that pain go away within hours.

---

Okay. Back to the original post by the original poster. It's been awhile since you posted. I hope your daughter is out of pain by now. I'll be thinking good thoughts for her tonight. I suffer from migraines and I know how scary pain can be... and I can only imagine what it must be like for a child. I hope the pain is gone soon and that she feels great by morning!! :)

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Slurring of speech and dizziness can be symptoms of migraine but can also indicate other neurological diseases. I would suggest you to get her neurological exam done at the earliest. It is very likely that her symptoms are related to migraine but it is better to be on the safe side and get a neurological exam done.
Keep us posted.

[marileew]

Slurred speech can be a totally normal symptom of migraine so please do not panic.

But, I think that since you have treated her with the medication prescribed by the doctor and her headache has not gone away and she has developed new symptoms that you should take her to the ER.

Headaches can be serious. And symptoms such as slurred speech and also be serious.

A severe three-day headache, if it's new and unusual for the patient, should really be considered an emergency.

Slurred speech and not being able to walk straight, if it is new and unusual for the patient, should also really be considered an emergency.

Please consider taking your daughter to the nearest ER. They will let you know if something more serious is going on. If all is well, they will discharge you and you have have the reassurance of knowing that nothing is really wrong. Also, if your daughter is still in severe pain, they will be able to treat her for severe pain at the ER better than a GP can at his office... as they can use IV drugs which work much faster and upset the stomach much less... and they can monitor your daughter for any unusual side-effects that stronger pain killers can have that a GP would not give because he could not monitor... but such pain killers would be safe in a hospital setting and only safe in a hospital setting when dealing with an 11 year old.

If you have a Children's ER, that is the best place to take her as a Children's ER will treat her more appropriately and will be guaranteed to have child appropriate medical equipment in stock. If you live in a smaller area without a Children's ER, then the regular ER should also have everything needed to properly treat a child.