I’m a doctor… here is when to pay attention to headaches and the symptoms that are ‘red flags’
An emergency pediatrics doctor has revealed the warning signs you need to look out for when you get a headache – and what she considers to be a ‘red flag.’
Florida-based doctor Meghan Martin, who goes by the username @beachgem10 on social media, alerted moms and dads about the symptoms they need to pay attention to in a video posted this week to TikTok.
Dr. Martin often takes to social media to share her children’s safety tips, provide guidance for the flu and cold season, and break down medical news.
In this video, Dr. Martin explained that she often gets a lot of ‘mom anxiety’ when it comes to headaches, as they can sometimes be signs of a more serious issue, like brain tumors.
She explained that she sees hundreds of kids each year who come into the emergency room with headaches, and only diagnoses about three brain tumors per year – but has noticed certain symptoms that are more alarming than others.
‘Let’s talk about some symptoms that can indicate there’s some badness going on,’ she began.
The first alarming symptom Dr. Martin spoke about was the timing of headaches, especially if you are getting them in the mornings.
‘The giveaway here is the timing of the headache,’ she explained.
In this video, Dr. Martin explained that she often gets a lot of ‘mom anxiety’ when it comes to headaches, as they can sometimes be signs of a more serious issue, like brain tumors
‘Waking up with a headache, or the headache being worst in the morning, is the red flag sign,’ she said.
Next was nausea and vomiting, as she explained that ‘persistent’ stomach upset can be a symptom of a brain tumor, as it increases the pressure in the brain, which can cause symptoms.
‘Double red flag if a kid wakes up in the morning and has a headache associated with vomiting and it’s been going on for a couple of days or longer,’ Dr. Martin shared.
Another symptom she spoke about was an increase in tiredness.
‘Kids being more sleepy is pretty common this time of year as they’re adjusting going back to school, but if it is persistent, especially associated with other symptoms, it’s time to see their doctor,’ she shared.
‘Problems with vision, hearing, or speech can also be a problem,’ she continued.
When it comes to vision, she said that some warning signs can be a loss of balance or kids having ‘double vision.’
Other symptoms that she listed included ‘personality changes,’ ‘seizures,’ and ‘weakness in the face and other extremities.’
‘Kids being more sleepy is pretty common this time of year as they’re adjusting going back to school, but if it is persistent, especially associated with other symptoms, it’s time to see their doctor,’ she shared
Dr. Martin then shared what happens if you come into the ER with these kinds of symptoms.
‘In the ER, if someone comes in with symptoms that are concerning, we either get a CT scan or an MRI of their head to look a little bit deeper,’ she explained.
‘I’m not telling you this information to scare you or make you more anxious, I want you to feel empowered to advocate for your child, and now you have all of the information to do it,’ she concluded.
In the comments section of her video, many shared their own stories about headaches and how ‘mom anxiety’ can sometimes be spot on.
‘Mom anxiety caused me to push for a MRI and we found my son’s brain tumor early! I always say mom anxiety is our spidey senses going off,’ one person wrote.
Another agreed, ‘My daughter was 13 and experienced all of those symptoms. Three ER visits within three days resulted in a tectal glioma. She’s 23 now and doing great.’
‘My best friends daughter had one last year and sooooo many doctors wrote them off for months! So glad she’s okay today,’ someone else typed.
