DS, 6 years old, says his head hurts?

[StephandOwen]

This is the first time he's ever complained of his head hurting. He hasn't hit it on anything today. He played outside but not too long (and was in the shade part of the time). He started complaining of the pain hours after he came inside so I don't think it had anything to do with the heat. I had him lay down in the dark and quiet (I get headaches and this is what helps me) but he said it still hurt him. He is walking around and talking now so it's not like debilitating pain or anything.

What can cause a 6 year old's head to hurt? He says it hurts in the front off to the right side (like over his right eye). He's been saying this for a couple hours.

I'm trying not to do the mama freak-out right now because there is a chance he has neurofibromatosis. He has the cafe au lait spots but no other symptoms. We chose not to do the genetic testing because the geneticist says there's a high chance of false negatives. 2 concerns with neurofibromatosis are brain tumors and optic glioma (tumor on the main nerve for the eye). I'm trying my hardest not to pack him up and run to the ER demanding an MRI immediately He was at the eye doctor a couple months ago and there were no tumors on the optic nerve at that time. He hasn't had an MRI in about 3 1/2 years.

[A&A]

one thing that can cause headaches is dehydration, even a little bit. So perhaps give him some water and see if that helps.

[StephandOwen]

Thanks! Water is all he drinks so he is drinking it all day long. He did drink a little more before bed. Before he went to sleep he said it still hurt, but he wasn't crying or anything so I put him to bed. Hopefully in the morning he's feeling much better!

[happysmileylady]

It could be anything that causes headaches in anyone. My first thought was water consumption too. But if you are sure it's not that, there's also simply just having been in the sun too much (even hours later-it could have started outside and gradually gotten worse and he didn't notice it at first.) It could be food/hunger, are you sure that he's eaten enough? It could be a regular old vision problem or from squinting in the sunlight.

Also, you said he was complaining about it being on his front right side...I get migraines and that's almost always how mine start, except mine are on the left side. My migraines are related to hormones, but if I am not at 100% there are several things that can trigger it-motion sickness, lights too bright, flashing lights, hunger, dehydration etc. That could certainly be something he could be prone to, without any other illness tied to that.

Also, if it makes you feel better, I also have several cafe-au-lait spots (and in fact didn't even know that's what they were called until a few years ago) and do not have any sort of chronic illness. Sometimes, spots are just spots

[AllyRae]

Allergies? The pollen is wicked bad right now, and my head's been hurting for about a week now.

Also, kids just get headaches sometime. It could be a head cold, allergies, being tired, too much stress, weather changes, atmospheric pressure, eye problems, etc.