If you're like many parents

[mani kandan]

If you're like many parents, you probably think of headaches as something kids give you, not something kids get. But research indicates that 50 to 70 percent of all school-age children have experienced a headache, according to Francis J. DiMario, Jr., M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and neurology at the University of Connecticut in Farmington. ''The causes of children's headaches are very similar to the causes of adult headaches,'' says Dr. DiMario. ''They get tension headaches; headaches associated with injury, illness or fever; and migraines.'' About 10 percent of children with headaches get chronic migraines.
All kinds of kids' headaches usually respond to the same treatments used for adult headaches, from over-the-counter pain relievers and warm compresses for occasional headaches to prescription drugs and biofeedback for chronic headaches. Even if your child's headache requires professional intervention, the experts say there are still measures you can take at home to help make the medical treatment more effective.