My Daughter

[laniebelle]

Okay so my daughter,Michelle is 13 years old...Well oneday she was at a waterpark and her anfd another child went down the slide together well when they were coming down they hit a bump at the end and smashed heads well she cracked her head open and so did he well after that she had been complaining of headaches and stuff well a couple months later she started having really bad headaches well oneday she came home from her dance class and she said her head was hurting and i asked how long and she said about 3 hours and she said she had taken medicine so it was about 8pm and i told her to go lay down and if it isn't any better then come tell me so about 9:15 or so she said momma it isn't better it is getting worse so i put her in the car and drive to the ER and we get there and see a doctor and the doctor is like oh well it will go away it's just her growing and all this stuff but i wasn't to convinced so i just watched her well about a month later she was getting groceries out of the back of my car and she was closing the back of the Tahoe and she slammed it on her head cause she thought she had gotten out of the wa of it and she started crying and complaining her head was hurting well about 2-3 days after that she started forgeting stuff...like i would tell her to go get her clothes or take out the dog and she would still be sitting there watching TV or whatever she was doing..and i would get on to her and she would say "I forgot i'm sorry i really did." well i just figured shoot she's just trying to get out of trouble..well it's been about 5 months since she shut the door on her head and she still keeps saying she is forgeting stuff....i'm not sure if i should take her to get her checked out or just wait it out..i'm affraid if i wait it might get worse but if i do take her to get a catcan and waste $5,000 when there is nothign wrong with her then i don't want to..so i need some anwsers on to what it might be and how i can treat it.

[Rowena Santos, MD]

How are you? How's Michelle? Headache is a common result of head injury and it might persist for months or years following even mild head trauma. Most people report a generalized dull, aching, constant discomfort with intermittent exacerbations. It is most frequently associated with a variety of symptoms such as dizziness, insomnia, difficulties in concentration, problems with memory, becoming tired quickly, and irritability and mood and personality changes. In most patients, the frequency and severity of the headache diminishes with the passage of time, and the headache usually disappears within six to 12 months. If not, it would be best to see a doctor for proper evaluation.

These are few signs and symptoms that require immediate medical evaluation and treatment: a sudden, severe, persistent headache that becomes severe within a few seconds or minutes; a severe headache associated with a fever or stiff neck; headache associated with a seizure, personality changes, confusion, or loss of consciousness, headache that begins quickly after strenuous exercise or minor trauma, a new headache associated with neurologic symptoms. You can read more about this throug hthis link:
http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~l__Kg262PtwC.z

I hope this helps. Take care and keep us posted.