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[Insaan]

hello doctor,
my teenage girl suffers from mild headaches (once in a while it pains more ) and feeling of heaviness in head most of the times when she returns from school.
She had her eyes tested but the test result was negative (no number).
Can you please advise?

[Sibtain]

Can you give me more details like:
- Where is the headache?
- How old is she?
- How long has this been going on?
- What do you do to give her relief from it?
- Are there any other symptoms?

[Insaan]

-mostly forehead and top part of head and rarely eyes and back part of head too
-14 yrs old
-since 3 months
-massage with vicks/sometimes after resting she gets relief sometimes not
-sometimes she suffers from constipation

[Sibtain]

The type of headache you are describing is called a "tension headache", sometimes called stress headaches. It is more common in adults, but when it does occur in adolescents, it is usually due to an emotional or physical stress. Since it happens more when she returns from school, it could be due to some physical or emotional trigger at school.

Physical stressors include over-participation in activities and sports. Emotional stressors include the stress of exams, lack of friends, bullying etc.

At the same time, lack of enough quality sleep can also lead to tension headaches.

It is therefore vital to identify what is causing her stress that leads to the headaches. Once that is identified, then you can take the step to try and remove the stress from her.

In some cases, the stress cannot be identified, and you should take her to a doctor or counsellor who can talk to her properly to identify the stressor.

Apart from removing the stress, common medicines such as paracetamol can be used for controlling the headache. Furthermore, a well balanced diet and enough sleep (atleast 8 hours a day at her age) is also vital.

[Insaan]

thank you doctor