Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026
10:39
3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
Management of headaches in children
Canadian Family Physician Medecin De Famille Canadien
|January 22, 2011
Summary
Headaches are common in children, but severe or recurring cases need evaluation. This review covers migraine, organic, and psychogenic headaches, detailing their symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Clinical Medicine
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Headaches are a frequent pediatric complaint.
- Most childhood headaches are benign, but severe or unusual presentations warrant medical attention.
- Headaches can signal underlying systemic or intracranial pathology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the three most common types of headaches in children.
- To highlight characteristic symptoms, diagnostic approaches, and management strategies.
- To differentiate between migraine, organic, and psychogenic headaches in pediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of pediatric headache types.
- Analysis of symptoms, investigations, and treatments for common pediatric headaches.
- Focus on differentiating features for migraine, organic, and psychogenic headaches.
Main Results:
- Migraine, organic headaches, and psychogenic headaches are the most common types in children.
- Recurrent headaches with normal development may suggest migraine or psychogenic causes.
- Headaches can be linked to systemic illness or increased intracranial pressure.
Conclusions:
- A thorough evaluation is crucial for children with severe, recurring, or atypical headaches.
- Understanding the distinct features of migraine, organic, and psychogenic headaches aids diagnosis.
- Effective management relies on accurate identification of the headache type in children.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Hypertension V: Nursing Management
The nursing management of hypertension involves accurately assessing symptoms, making a comprehensive nursing diagnosis, collaborating with patients to set goals, and implementing targeted interventions to mitigate the condition's impact and improve patient well-being.Comprehensive AssessmentThe initial step in nursing care for hypertension involves a thorough patient assessment. It includes evaluating symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, and previous hypertension episodes.
01:26Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion
In pediatric medicine, understanding the renal function and drug elimination nuances is crucial for administering safe and effective treatments. Newborns, in particular, display markedly slower renal functions than adults, profoundly affecting how drugs are cleared from their bodies. This slower drug clearance requires clinicians to extend the dosing intervals for many medications to prevent drug accumulation and toxicity while ensuring therapeutic efficacy.One key area where these adjustments...
01:26Tonsillitis II: Management
This lesson will focus on the different treatment options for managing tonsillitis, which typically depend on the cause and severity.
01:29Drug Dosing: Infants and Children
Pediatric patient dosages diverge from adults due to disparities in body surface area, total body water, and extracellular fluid per kilogram of body weight. The dosing regimen considers the variations in pharmacokinetics and pharmacology across distinct age groups, encompassing preterm newborns, infants, young children, older children, and adolescents. Calculation of pediatric patient doses is predicated on determining body surface area, which exhibits a superior correlation with the child's...
01:24Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism
In pediatric care, understanding the nuances of hepatic drug metabolism is crucial, as it significantly differs from that of adults. This divergence is primarily due to the developmental stage of drug-metabolizing enzymes, which affects how medications are processed in the body. In neonates, for instance, the activity of Phase I enzymes—critical for the initial breakdown of drugs—is markedly reduced, functioning at just 20–40% of the levels seen in adults. This reduction poses a challenge in...
01:14Increased Intracranial Pressure l: Introduction
Intracranial hypertension is a sustained elevation of intracranial pressure (ICP) above 22 mm Hg. In supine adults, normal ICP is ~7–15 mm Hg.The rigid, nonexpandable cranium contains three components—brain tissue, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)—that total ~1,700 mL in a typical adult: 1,400 mL brain (~80%), 150 mL blood (~10%), and 150 mL CSF (~10%). According to the Monro–Kellie doctrine, total intracranial volume is effectively fixed. When one component expands, CSF and venous blood...