Doctor urges parents to understand importance of child's headaches
McAllen Monitor NewsPaper
Sunday, March 24, 1996

It's always difficult to listen to the anguished cry of a child in pain. Especially when the child is too young to put that pain into words.

But doctors say severe headaches are all too common in children. According to one study, by age 7, 20 percent of children have "headaches of importance. " By the time they're 15, 75 percent of children already have had headaches.

If a parent has a history of severe or migraine headaches, there is a good chance the child will have them too, said Dr. Leonardo Garcia-Mendez of McAllen.

"What's important is that parents know there are different mechanisms that can produce a headache," he said. Garcia-Mendez is the author of Headaches in Children, a practical, informative guide for parents, teachers and paramedical personnel.

"Most headaches are transient in their occurrence," Garcia-Mendez writes. "They may relate directly to an acute organic process or illness, or transiently to stress or an emotional pressure. (Chronic) headaches... may be difficult and frustraing to diagnose and manage."

Even if doctors find no serious health risk connected with the child's headaches, parents still want to know why the child is having them, he said.

Headaches can have several causes, including fever, infections, low sugar levels in the bloodstream, and even abnormal electric activity in the brain.

"The doctor has to rule out everything before starting with an appropriate treatment," he said.

Before beginning any treatment for a child's headache, Garcia-Mendez said, he strongly urges parents to consult a physician.

In his book, Garcia-Mendez states caffeine in small doses can be effective.

"Because of the various pharmacological effects of caffeine, it should have an important role in the management of headaches in children," Garcia-Mendez writes.

Many of the patients he treated "started to report a marked improvement in their headache symptoms" after starting the caffeine treatment.

The caffeine helps soothe headaches because, as a mild stimulant, it produces constriction of the mid-size arteries in the brain and improves circulation.

Tylenol (acetominophen) for children long has been available over the counter for headaches and other ailments. Recently, Motrin (ibuprofen) for children was afforded the same status.

Both are widely used, along with children's aspirin, for pain relief.

While use of aspirin has been severely discouraged for use on children with flu-like symptom, it is still a "cornerstone treatment" for arthritis in children, said Carlos Solis, R.Ph., of C.S. Pharmacy Services in McAllen.

"Tylenol is really the drug of choice for treating children," Solis said.

But, he added, Tylenol, Motrin and aspirin can all be damaging to children if taken for long periods of time or in too strong a dose.

Aspirin and Motrin are potentially damaging to kidneys; long-term or heavy use of Tylenol can cause liver damage, Solis said.

Arline Covey of McAllen is a mother, grandmother and a former nurse. She said increasing public awareness about headaches in children was a significant step in the right direction.

"I think it's very important," Covey said. "I think many times parents are in the dark even after they've been to the doctor. I think most doctors don't take time to explain things to them."

Covey was herself a migraine headache sufferer. Her daughters have told her they have had tension or migraine headaches.

She said she was impressed by both Garcia-Mendez's book and his approach to patient education.

"He is extremely interested in making certain that the parents understand, rather than just left by a doctor who doesn't take time to explain what's going on with their child," Covey said.

Book Reviews & Other Books by Dr. Garcia