6 year olds headaches

[kmt960]

I have a 6 year old boy that continously has migraines/headaches, they can last up to 3.5 hours with him screaming and crying that it hurts so bad.  It happens in the morning, middle of the day, or at night.  I give him the usual Ibuprofen and Tylenol, sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't but he eventually falls asleep for a few hours, which is very rare for him in the middle of the day.
Please help.

[LifesAHeadache]

You need to get him to a board certified pediatric neurologist right away.  And the next time he is screaming and crying because of pain - PLEASE take him to an urgent care center.  Do you have those in your area?  Not the ER but hosptials set up urgent care centers (covered just like it was the hospital) usually in strip centers.  (Since he is 6, he may be afraid of the ER).  They can check his blood pressure, you can tell them you are waiting for your ped neuro appt and they can give him something stronger for pain - probably tylenol with a small dose of codiene in it.  Also, if they want to give him a shot - you  as his mom know if he is up to that or not - if not, tell them no he just needs a little something for pain until he is diagnosed.  Remember, no triptans for a child until a pediatric neuologist says OK and you read all the inserts and agree.  I am not a doctor but I don't agree with triptans for a child especially of that age.  They may not even prescribe that for a 6 year old, maybe one of the docs could say.  Also, they can give him something for the nausea but no compazine for children.  Sorry for all the information, but your kiddo needs a full neuro eval and may very well have Migraines for years to come.  I know this looks like tons of info but once he is on a good preventative, you may have a happy, jumpy little boy and that is so worth it.  Good Luck I know how hard it is when your child is in that much pain.  Take Care.

[beckyf800]

Does he have several of these hedaches though out the day/night?
Where is his pain located?
Does he wake up at aprox same time in the night with one or more following?

Cluster Headaches are another type and are treated different than mirgraines/tension and also have different symptons

I am a Chronic Cluster Headache patiant myself and these are extremly painful and do come in groups, I have had them since I was 16, am now feel like old lady, lol I have been told by a few different  Neurologist that they are rare in females, (me) mostly males are prone.

Took me a long time to find a Neuro that was familuar with these types of headaches. I went for several yrs before a diagnose was finally found on me.

If I can be of any more info, I will try

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

The headache due to migraine often is associated with some other features like redness of eyes, nausea and/or vomiting, tingling, dizziness, etc. Does the boy have these symptoms ?

You need to consult a pediatric neurologist to rule out any other cause of the problem, and to start him off on a good medication.

Regards