Headache is a very common problem in childhood. There can be a huge number of reasons for it, however, as medical practice shows, in about 80 percent of cases it is not associated with anything serious. But it is a completely different matter if vomiting and some other symptoms are added to migraines. This can be a sign of various serious diseases that require urgent treatment. It is not recommended to engage in therapy at home on your own, since only a specialized specialist can make an accurate diagnosis and select the optimal treatment program. Therefore, if a child is vomiting and has a severe headache, it is best to take him to the doctor.
As for parents, they can give their baby first aid and make things a little easier. But for this you need to know what exactly they are dealing with. In this article, we look at the most common causes of migraines in children that are accompanied by vomiting.
Why can babiesbe a severe headache?
This issue needs to be given special attention. If a child has vomiting and a headache, there may be various diseases and pathologies. In addition, the children's body is still fragile and prone to fatigue, so these clinical manifestations are the result of heavy physical exertion. After a good rest, the symptoms completely disappear and the baby's condition returns to normal.
If pain and vomiting do not go away for several days, then this can be a sign of conditions that are dangerous to he alth and life, so you should not delay going to the hospital, because the chances of a full recovery and the absence of complications largely depend on how quickly treatment was started. As a rule, in about 20% of cases, the child has a headache, and then vomiting due to various diseases. Let's take a closer look at the most common ones.
Migraine
This neurological disease is often accompanied by headache and reflex eruption of stomach contents. It is passed down through the mother's line, so women are most often affected by it. The first symptoms of the disease appear at the age of about ten years, but as the baby grows older, the clinical indications become less pronounced, so they are not given much importance. As a rule, the cephalgic syndrome manifests itself in one of the hemispheres of the brain. Pain is intermittent and intense. At the same time, the childnot only does he have a headache and vomiting, but he also reacts violently to bright lights, strong smells, and loud noises. An attack of vomiting in most cases covers at the very end of the attack, and after it the girls feel a noticeable relief and they manage to fall asleep.
Head injuries and concussions
What do you need to know about this? Pain and vomiting after a child falls on his head are a sign of a traumatic brain injury, which is very common in young children. If both symptoms made themselves felt at the same time, and before they appeared, the baby fell or hit his head hard, then he should be immediately shown to a qualified specialist, since head injuries can lead to very serious consequences. Of particular concern are periodic loss of consciousness and mental retardation.
If a child vomits after hitting his head, then he must be provided with complete rest and protected from any physical and emotional overload. In addition, therapy should be carried out using various medications, which are selected by doctors based on the clinical picture of the state of he alth and the individual characteristics of a particular patient.
Dehydration
It is very common for a child to vomit and feel dizzy due to an imbalance in water balance resulting from insufficient fluid intake during the day. General weakness, loss of appetite, fatigue, involuntary contractions of the muscles of the upper andlower extremities, as well as convulsions. Dehydration is a very big threat to he alth and can even lead to death, because due to a lack of water in the body, all metabolic processes are disrupted. In the absence of timely treatment, some changes become irreversible, as a result of which patients can no longer be saved.
Viral and infectious diseases
This category of ailments can also cause a child to vomit, have a headache and stomachache, and experience a state of depression. Influenza, acute respiratory viral infections, intestinal infections and many viruses lead to intoxication of the body, as a result of which a person feels worse, severe migraines begin, and there may also be bouts of vomiting. At the same time, treatment should be comprehensive and include not only measures to eliminate symptoms, but also actions aimed at combating pathogens.
Meningitis
So, what is this disease? Inflammation of the brain is a very dangerous disease not only for children, but also for adults. At the same time, even if the treatment is started on time, there is no guarantee of a complete recovery of the patient and his return to his usual way of life. Even after a course of therapy, a baby can develop many different complications that will remain with him throughout his life.
Therefore, if a child has vomiting and a severe headache, it would be useful to show him to the doctor, especially when the following concomitant symptoms appearsymptoms:
- constant and intermittent nausea and vomiting;
- quick fatigue even with minimal physical exertion;
- apathy for everything that happens;
- general weakness;
- impaired functioning of the central and peripheral nervous system;
- specific rash all over body;
- clouded consciousness.
In addition, in the later stages of the course of the disease, the patient's behavioral factors change and mental activity decreases. If you notice at least a few of the symptoms listed above, then urgent hospitalization is necessary here.
Diseases of the digestive system
Today, these ailments are among the most common. If a child has a headache after vomiting, then this may be a sign that he has problems with his stomach or intestines. Most pathologies are accompanied by discomfort in the abdomen, loose stools, increased gas formation and sharp bouts of pain. In addition, there may be an increased body temperature and a deterioration in well-being. Medical experts do not recommend self-medication, as this can only aggravate the patient's condition and significantly delay the recovery process, so it is better to immediately take the baby to the hospital, where he will be given all the necessary tests and the most effective therapy will be selected.
Encephalitis
Another very dangerous disease is encephalitis. It is accompanied by severe migraines and vomiting.urges, so it is very easy to confuse it with other ailments. In addition, body temperature stays above 40 degrees for a long time and practically does not go astray even with potent drugs. As in the case of meningitis, encephalitis requires immediate treatment, because in the later stages the disease becomes irreversible, as a result of which the child may fall into a coma and die.
Polio
Despite the fact that infantile spinal paralysis is extremely rare today, nevertheless, this disease is still diagnosed even in our country. This is a highly contagious infectious disease, accompanied by a large number of pronounced clinical manifestations. In addition to unbearable migraines, the baby is worried about a strong cough, high fever, sore throat, mucous discharge from the nasal canals and general weakness.
If you notice that the child is vomiting and has a headache, then do not delay going to the hospital for a minute, because the statistics are not comforting. According to doctors, about 14 percent of patients cannot be cured and they die. In addition, many of those who have recovered remain disabled of varying degrees of severity for life.
Food and chemical poisoning
Eating stale food can lead to severe intoxication of the body, the main symptoms of which are migraine, nausea and vomiting, lack of appetite, diarrhea, and depression. The first signs of poisoning do not take longwait and appear only a few hours after the poison enters the body.
After the baby vomits, he begins to experience some relief, therefore, to reduce the level of intoxication, doctors prescribe gastric and intestinal lavage to patients. As for cephalalgia, it is a consequence of the body's response to toxins, as well as their negative impact on the brain.
First Aid
Let's take a closer look at this. If your child is vomiting and has a headache and you don't know what the problem is, it's best to go to the hospital for a comprehensive examination. Take your baby to a qualified pediatrician who will perform a general examination and then refer you for a consultation with specialized specialists. If the child's condition is too bad, then it is better not to take risks, but to call an ambulance team at home. Until she arrives, you can try to make your baby feel better on your own.
The following steps will help you with this:
- protect the baby from any emotional overload;
- turn him on his side so he doesn't choke on his own vomit;
- give plenty of fluids to drink to improve the elimination of toxins from the body;
- at high temperature give antipyretic;
- open the window to bring fresh air into the room.
If a child has a headache and vomiting due to the fact that he has swallowed any poisonous substances, then before the arrival of the doctors, it is necessary to do a gastric lavage on his own. itIt will prevent toxins from entering the bloodstream and their further distribution throughout the body. It is strictly forbidden to give the patient painkillers and antibiotics. In addition, it is undesirable to resort to alternative medicine, as this can only aggravate the situation and make it difficult for doctors to make a correct diagnosis.
If there was no poisoning, but the child suffers from headaches and vomiting, then a noticeable deterioration in his well-being may be a cause for concern. In this case, it is better not to delay visiting a doctor, since most of the diseases discussed in this article require immediate treatment, since at later stages it will be impossible to defeat them completely and without consequences. Always take care of your child's he alth!
