Hi, this is Tom, and in this episode I'm going to be going through headaches in children.

And you can find notes at zero to finals.com and in the zero to finals pediatrics book.

And if you're preparing for any medical school exams, particularly medical school finals, it's worth having a look

at the zero to finals finals revision book, which is a really concise summary of all the key content

that might come up on the MLA exam and in the medical school curriculum. That's at zero to finals shop.com. So let's jump straight in.

Headaches are common in children. The majority are simple tension type headaches that resolve

within a short period. However, there are many causes of headaches in children and serious causes

need to be excluded.

So let's go through the causes. The causes of headaches and children include tension headaches,

migraines, ear, nose and throat infections, medication overuse headache, which typically happens with too much use of analgesic medications,

problems with vision, raised intracranial pressure, brain tumors, meningitis, encephalitis, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Let's talk about tension headaches.

Tension headaches are very common.

They produce an ache across the forehead and a pressure in a band-like pattern around the head.

They appear and resolve gradually and they do not produce

visual changes or pulsating sensations. They're generally symmetrical. They vary in duration

from minutes to hours. Symptoms may be very non-specific in younger children who may just become quiet, pale, tired or

stop playing. Triggers for tension headaches and children include stress, fear or discomfort,

skipping meals, dehydration or infections.

Management of tension headaches includes reassurance,

simple analgesia, regular meals, avoiding dehydration and reducing stress.

Let's talk about migraines.

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