Is there an increase in headaches among junior high students in New york? - Page 2

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  1. Feb 20, '03 by
    Originally posted by debRNo1
    I live in NY and my son is an 8th grader who last year complained continually of "headaches and stomach" aches. Pedi MD gave him a clean bill of health-medically and the complaints continued as his grades plummeted. He spent the summer in school passing by the skin of his teeth. He seemed to have a sad look but was he sad because his grades were bad or did the saddness make him get the bad grades ??

    I decided to have a psych consult to R/O depression. He has been on an antidepressant now for about 8 weeks and he seems to be a little more outgoing/more talkative and a little less "sad" looking. Im hoping that the grades will improve pretty soon.

    So my point is that maybe the headaches you are seeing could be a something other than an excuse to leave the classroom or a meal not eaten ?????

    deb
    Deb- thanks for your response, I appreciate the thoughts. It is our job to investigate the various causes for all the frequent visits to the nurse. I work closely with the counselors in the next office to clue them into my "frequent flyer" list as well as bring these kids up to our special services team for discussion as well. I think these students are very lucky to have caring school nurses. I wish the administration thought we were more important. Our district is the third from the bottom for low salary positions...
  2. Feb 20, '03 by
    My take on this would be the REGENTS EXAMS they have to study for and take on what seems to be a monthly basis. If I had that much studying to do in Junior HS I would have claimed HA's all of the time.
    Last edit by Flynurse on Feb 21, '03
  3. Feb 21, '03 by
    Dear Flynurse,
    I agree, I'd have many headaches as well... I have seen a pattern for the standardized tests but I do see more h/a's at the end of the marking periods. I initially thought that it would be the students with lower GPA's that got more but my numbers show that the students with GPA's around 85and up have more! The whole research project has been interesting. Unfortunately i have not come up with any right or wrong answers. It is just omportant the a nurse is there to see these kids as needed! Did you see the article in news section that told about Massachusetts nurses being laid off due to the budget- kind of scary...
  4. Feb 21, '03 by
    Originally posted by dherb
    I have seen a pattern for the standardized tests but I do see more h/a's at the end of the marking periods. I initially thought that it would be the students with lower GPA's that got more but my numbers show that the students with GPA's around 85and up have more!
    Really, I believe this whole heartedly! Studying for these exams leaves no room for the student to explore the subject. They have to cram all of this information into their little heads so they can spew it out at a later date!

    More thoughts to come....I have a headache right now and can't think straight. (No, pun intended)
  5. Mar 1, '03 by
    dherb, Just came across this report & thought of you.

    medscape is free to register.

    http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/450109

    Context of Pediatric Headache Points to School-Related Stress

    LONDON (Reuters Health) Feb 28 - Noisy classrooms and tough academic subjects can literally be a real headache for kids, Swedish researchers have found.

    Working on the assumption that children probably have insights into what triggers their own headaches, Dr. Birgitta Hovelius and colleagues took the novel approach of actually asking a group of 10 to 14-year-olds about their experience of headache.

    "We are trying to understand children's intuitive knowledge and understanding of factors affecting their health from the point of view that their narratives represent an important source of knowledge in the area of medical research," Dr. Hovelius told Reuters Health. "Such research has been neglected."

    The children consistently linked their headaches with conditions in school, the researchers report in The British Journal of General Practice. "Specifically with more theoretically oriented subjects--mathematics or Swedish--a noisy and disorderly school environment, and insecure relations with classmates."

    Another regular theme when the children were encouraged to talk freely was insecurity or conflict in their family.

    "The biomedically oriented healthcare services and the healthcare information to which the children had access scarcely provided them with any real help in dealing with their headaches," the researchers write.

    As many as 50% to 70% of adolescents report headaches, according to recent studies.

    "The results of our study elucidate why physicians will fail to make sense of children's headaches if they approach them from a purely biomedical perspective," Dr. Hovelius told Reuters Health.

    "This stresses the importance of broadening the consultation to include aspects at the personal and contextual level."

    Br J Gen Pract 2003;53:210-215.

    I hope it's not really considered novel to ask an adolescent about their experience of headache. Just seems like part of a good assessment. (JMHO)
  6. Mar 11, '03 by
    Context of Pediatric Headache Points to School-Related Stress
    Noisy classrooms and tough academic subjects can literally be a real headache for kids, Swedish researchers have found.
    Reuters Health Information 2003

    http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/450109?mpid=10705