Headaches occur for many reasons. Colds, flu, a sinus infection, or dental problems can cause headaches. So can allergies, high blood pressure, eye strain, or skipping a meal. But if your teen is getting regular headaches, he or she should see a physician to identify the type and possible cause of the pain.
Only rarely are headaches due to brain tumors. More frequently, your teen’s headaches will turn out to come from tension, depression and anxiety, or from a genetic predisposition for migraine headaches.
A tension headache is often felt at the front or sides of the head, or the base of the skull. Aspirin or other analgesics and rest are the best cure.
Psychogenic headaches, caused by depression and anxiety, may feel like a band circling the head, and are most likely to strike in mornings and evenings. Pain relievers, family support and therapy can help.
Migraine headaches can cause severe pain, sensitivity to light, and nausea. These can be helped by lifestyle changes, as well as prescription drugs.
Your physician can evaluate and advise your teen. Whatever the source of your teen’s headaches, there is help.
Dr. Wibbelsman, M.D., is an award-winning author and former “Dear Doctor” columnist for Teen magazine. Chair of Adolescent Medicine for the Permanente Medical Group, Northern California, he is chief of the Teen-Age Clinic at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco, and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco Medical School. Dr. Wibbelsman is the news anchor for a Bay Area television series, “Medicine in the Nineties”.