In childhood, headache is a very common problem. There can be a lot of reasons for it, however, as medical practice shows, in about 80 percent of cases it is not connected with anything serious. But it’s another matter if vomiting and some other symptoms are added to migraines. This can be a sign of various serious diseases that require immediate treatment. It is not recommended to independently engage in therapy at home, since only a specialized specialist can make an accurate diagnosis and choose the optimal treatment program. Therefore, if the child has vomiting, and his head hurts, then it is best to show it to the doctor.
As for parents, they can provide their baby with first aid and a little to ease their health. But for this you need to know what exactly they are dealing with. In this article, we will consider the most common causes of migraines in children, which are accompanied by vomiting.
Why can babies have a severe headache?
This issue must be emphasized. If a child has vomiting and a headache, there can be various diseases and pathologies. In addition, the child’s body is still fragile and prone to fatigue, so such clinical manifestations are the result of great 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 may be a sign of health and life-threatening conditions, so you should not delay going to the hospital, since the chances of a full recovery and absence of complications largely depend on how quickly it was started treatment. 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 very often accompanied by a headache and a reflex eruption of the contents of the stomach. It is transmitted through the maternal line, so women most often suffer from it. The first symptoms of the disease appear at the age of about ten years, but as the baby grows up, the clinical indications become less pronounced, so they do not attach much importance. As a rule, cephalgic syndrome manifests itself in one of the cerebral hemispheres. Pain sensations are periodic and have a pronounced severity. Moreover, the child not only has a headache and vomiting, but also reacts violently to bright light, strong smells and loud sounds. In most cases, an attack of vomiting covers at the very end of the attack, and after it the girls feel noticeable relief and manage to fall asleep.
Head injuries and concussions
What you need to know about this? Pain and vomiting after a child falls on his head are a sign of traumatic brain injury, which is very common in young children. If both symptoms made themselves felt at the same time, and before their appearance the baby fell or hit his head hard, then he should immediately be 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 the child vomits after hitting his head, then he needs to ensure complete peace and protect from any physical and emotional overload. In addition, therapy should be carried out using various medications that are selected by doctors based on the clinical picture of the state of health and the individual characteristics of a particular patient.
Dehydration
Very often, the child appears vomiting and dizzy due to a violation of the water balance resulting from insufficient fluid intake during the day. The main symptoms can be added general weakness, loss of appetite, fatigue, involuntary contractions of the muscles of the upper and lower extremities, as well as cramps. Dehydration is a very big threat to health and can even lead to death, because all metabolic processes are disrupted due to a lack of water in the body. In the absence of timely treatment, some changes become irreversible, as a result of which it is not possible to save patients.
Viral and Infectious Diseases
This category of ailments can also cause vomiting in a child, head and stomach hurt, and a state of depression is observed. Influenza, acute respiratory viral infections, intestinal infections and many viruses lead to intoxication of the body, as a result of which a person's health worsens, severe migraines begin, and there may also be attacks of vomiting. Moreover, the treatment should be comprehensive and include not only measures to eliminate symptoms, but also actions aimed at combating the causative agents of the disease.
Meningitis
So, what is this ailment? Inflammation of the brain is a very dangerous disease not only for children but also for adults. Moreover, even if treatment is started on time, there is no guarantee that the patient will recover completely and 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 the child has vomiting and has a headache, it will be useful to show it to the doctor, especially when the following accompanying symptoms are manifested:
- constant and periodic nausea, as well as vomiting;
- fatigue even with minimal physical exertion;
- apathy to everything that happens;
- general weakness;
- impaired functioning of the central and peripheral nervous system;
- specific rashes throughout the body;
- blurred consciousness.
In addition, at later stages 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 needed.
Digestive system diseases
Today, these ailments are one of the most common. If a child has a headache after vomiting, then this may be a sign of having problems with his stomach or intestines. Most pathologies are accompanied by discomfort in the abdomen, loose stools, increased gas and sharp bouts of pain. In addition, there may be an increased body temperature and a deterioration in well-being. Medical specialists do not recommend self-medication, since this can only aggravate the patient’s condition and significantly delay the healing process, so it’s better to immediately take the baby to the hospital, where he will get all the necessary tests and select the most effective therapy.
Encephalitis
Another very dangerous disease is encephalitis. It is accompanied by severe migraines and vomiting, so confusing it with other ailments is very easy. In addition, the body temperature for a long time keeps above 40 degrees and practically does not go astray even with potent drugs. As in the case of meningitis, encephalitis requires immediate treatment, since in the later stages of the disease the disease becomes irreversible, as a result of which the child may fall into a coma and die.
Polio
Despite the fact that cerebrospinal paralysis is extremely rare today, nevertheless, this ailment is still diagnosed even in our country. This is a very contagious infectious disease, accompanied by a large number of pronounced clinical manifestations. In addition to intolerable migraines, the baby is concerned about a strong cough, 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, since the statistics are not comforting. According to doctors, about 14 percent of patients cannot be cured and they die. In addition, many of the survivors remain disabled people of varying severity for life.
Food and chemical poisoning
Eating stale foods can lead to severe intoxication of the body, the main signs of which are migraine, nausea and vomiting, lack of appetite, diarrhea, and also a state of depression. The first signs of poisoning are not long in coming 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 patients to wash their stomach and intestines. As for cephalgia, it is a consequence of the body's response to toxins, as well as their negative impact on the brain.
First aid
Let's dwell on this in more detail. If the child has vomiting and a headache, and you do not know what the problem is, then it is best to go to the hospital for a comprehensive examination. Show the baby to a qualified pediatrician who will perform a general examination, after which he will direct you to a consultation with profiled specialists. If the child’s condition is too bad, then it’s better not to risk it, but to call an ambulance team at home. Until she arrives, you can independently try to make the baby feel better.
The following actions will help you with this:
- protect the baby from any emotional overload;
- turn it on its side so that it does not choke on its own vomit;
- give as much fluid as possible to improve the elimination of toxins from the body;
- at high temperature give an antipyretic;
- open the window to allow fresh air to flow into the room.
If the child has pain in the head and vomiting due to the fact that he swallowed any poisonous substances, then before the doctors arrive, he must independently wash his stomach. This will prevent the ingress of toxins into the bloodstream and their further distribution throughout the body. In this case, it is strictly forbidden to give the patient painkillers and antibiotics. In addition, it is undesirable to resort to alternative medicine, since in this way you can only aggravate the situation and complicate the making of the correct diagnosis for doctors.
If there was no poisoning, but the child suffers from bouts of headache and vomiting, then a noticeable deterioration in his health may be a cause for concern. In this case, it is better not to delay the visit to the 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 protect the health of your child!