When to Call the Doctor

Call or other emergency services anytime you think your child may need emergency care. For example, call if your child has:

• A very painful, sudden headache that's different than any he or she has had before.
• A fever with a stiff neck.
• A headache with sudden weakness, numbness, trouble moving parts of the body, vision problems, slurred speech, confusion, or behavior changes.

Call the doctor or seek medical care right away if your child has:

• Headaches after a recent fall or blow to the head.
• New nausea or vomiting, or if your child can't keep food or liquids down.

Watch closely for changes in your child's health. Call the doctor if your child's headaches:

• Last longer than 1 or 2 days.
• Wake him or her from sleep.
• Get worse or happen more often.
• Cause your child to take pain medicines often.
• Do not go away as expected.
• Occur along with a change in personality.

Exams and Tests

Your child's doctor will do a physical exam and ask questions, such as how often the headaches occur and what the symptoms are. The doctor will ask about your child's overall health.

Migraines and tension headaches can be similar to other kinds of headaches, which may have different treatments. So it's important for your child's doctor to find out what kind of headache your child has. The doctor also can make sure your child doesn't have other health problems that may be related to the headaches.

It's common for parents to feel very concerned about their child's headaches. You may feel that more testing is needed to rule out serious causes. But doctors often can find out the type and the cause of the headaches without using other tests.

In some cases, imaging and other tests may be recommended to rule out other health problems, but this isn't common. These tests include:

• An MRI or CT scan, which can show pictures of the brain to rule out problems like tumors or bleeding.
• An electroencephalogram (EEG), which measures the electrical activity in the brain.
• A lumbar puncture, in which a needle is used to remove a small amount of fluid from the spinal canal. The fluid is then looked at for signs of infection.