How to Handle Headaches in Children After Intense Exercise? What Are the Potential Causes?

There are many causes of headaches in children after strenuous exercise, including physiological reasons such as excessive sweating during exercise and inhalation of cold air, as well as pathological reasons such as colds, hypoglycemia, abnormal blood pressure, and neural headaches. It is recommended that parents promptly take their children to the hospital for medical attention and undergo appropriate treatment under the guidance of a doctor.

Physiological Reasons

1. Excessive sweating: If you experience head pain after strenuous exercise, it may be due to excessive exercise leading to a large amount of sweat excretion in the body, causing electrolyte imbalance. You can take a break to replenish fluids and observe.

2. Inhalation of cold air: If you exercise vigorously in cold winter or in a place with low temperatures, you may inhale cold air, stimulating the contraction of cerebral blood vessels, leading to symptoms of head pain. Generally, no special treatment is required, and the symptoms will gradually subside after breathing stabilizes.

Pathological Reasons

1. Cold: Due to exposure to cold or infection with influenza virus, a cold can cause fever and headaches after strenuous exercise, accompanied by symptoms such as nasal congestion and rhinorrhea. For colds caused by viral infections, antiviral oral liquid or ribavirin granules can be taken under the guidance of a doctor; for colds caused by bacterial infections, amoxicillin capsules and ampicillin capsules should be taken as prescribed.

2. Hypoglycemia: If the intake of nutrients is insufficient, it can easily reduce the body's energy. Children consume a large amount of glycogen during strenuous exercise. If sugar is not replenished promptly, it can lead to dizziness and headaches. In this case, high-sugar foods such as candy and chocolate should be consumed promptly to alleviate discomfort, and intravenous glucose solution can be administered as prescribed if necessary.

3. Abnormal blood pressure: If there is hypertension, when children engage in strenuous exercise, it will lead to an increase in heart rate and blood flow throughout the body, causing an increase in intracranial pressure, manifesting as headaches after strenuous exercise. At this time, exercise should be stopped immediately, and blood pressure levels should be monitored. If the blood pressure does not decrease, nifedipine sustained-release tablets or nimodipine tablets can be used under the guidance of a doctor to control blood pressure.

4. Neural headache: It is usually caused by excessive mental stress or psychological pressure. If children exercise vigorously for a long time, they may experience symptoms such as post-exercise headache, dizziness, tinnitus, palpitations, shortness of breath, irritability, and anxiety. Generally, adequate rest can be used to adjust and effectively recover from the illness. In addition to the above situations, it may also be caused by migraine and other reasons. If children frequently experience headaches after strenuous exercise, they should promptly consult a pediatric neurologist, undergo CT, blood tests, physical examinations, and other relevant examinations to diagnose and actively cooperate with doctors for treatment.