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Let's figure out something over the counter for a child's headache.
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Tap on the type of headache you think the child is  experiencing and see what will help over the counter.

 


 


Recommendation for tension type headaches are discussed below.
Pharmacist

Boy with a headache


Acetaminophen

Acetaminophen is preferred for a tension headache in children. Because overdosing your child can cause liver damage, we recommend you use the dosing section of this app for a recommended dose based on your child's weight.

 

NSAIDs

Non-Steroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs will be your next choice for headaches if your child cannot take acetaminophen.

 

Last updated by pharmacist on : 02/15/2016

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OTC recommendations for migraine headaches are discussed below.
Pharmacist

Girl with migraine


Acetaminophen

You should start with this to manage migraine headaches.

A combination with caffeine is a good idea if your child can swallow pills. Caffeine boosts the effect of acetaminophen for headache relief.

 

NSAIDs

Ibuprofen is a good choice if your child cannot take acetaminophen. You will also choose ibuprofen if a migraine involves pain in the neck or inflammatory muscle pain.

 

Last updated by pharmacist on : 02/15/2016

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OTC recommendations for sinus headaches are discussed below.
Pharmacist

Boy with a sinus headache


NSAIDs

An anti-inflammatory pain reliever would be more useful in relieving the pain of sinus pressure. 

Inflammation of the sinuses is causing this pain and combining pain relief with anti-inflammatory medication is a good idea.

Ibuprofen is a good example. If your child can swallow pills, I would go with naproxen. It has a slightly better anti-inflammatory effect compared to ibuprofen. But ibuprofen causes less damage to the stomach.

You may want to combine this with pseudoephedrine if the sinus pain is due to sinus pressure.

 

Acetaminophen

If your child cannot take an NSAID, then this would be a good choice.

This is also a good choice if the problem is mainly headaches and not related to sinus pressure or inflammation.

 

Last updated by pharmacist on : 02/15/2016

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OTC recommendations for other types of headaches include:
Pharmacist

Boy with a headache


Acetaminophen

For other types of headaches, you should start with acetaminophen. 

 

NSAIDs

Use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs if this headache includes body aches and pain.

A good example is ibuprofen.

 

Last updated by pharmacist on : 02/15/2016

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Know this about the safe and effective use of this recommendation.
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Our disclaimer

  • Recommendation is the opinion of a registered US Pharmacist currently practicing as a community pharmacist.
  • Recommendation is not an attempt to discuss all possible self care or treatment approach to this health challenge.
  • The responsibility of the recommending pharmacist is limited to this question:
    "If a patient presents with these symptoms, what will you recommend and why?"
    It is not an attempt to publish an article on the treatment of any condition. Just what would you tell a patient who present with so and so in the usual course of your practice.
  • The pharmacist image presented in this article may or may not be the actual image of the authoring pharmacist.
    Because we insist on using articles written by currently practicing community pharmacists, these pharmacists may choose to remain anonymous especially if they are employed by an employer to avoid being pressured to recommend a particular product to drive sales.
  • Please read the policies and terms of use for self-care OTC, selfcarepharmacist.com and it's affiliates by clicking on the button below.

 

 

 

 

What if your child is currently experiencing the condition listed below?

Or if you have a question for the pharmacist?
Pharmacist


You have a question

Please contact the pharmacist. He or she will gladly answer your questions.

Contacting the pharmacist

You may have to unlock the contact form using social networking tools (facebook, twitter, google+, linkedIn) we have made available to you.

If you can't do this, you will have to wait a few seconds depending on the number of users at the time.

Contact Pharmacist


What to expect

Expect a reply as soon as possible.
If the authoring pharmacist cannot reply within 24 hours, the system will push your email to the rest of the team. Any available pharmacist will answer your question as soon as possible.

If you have a comment and not a question, please post it in the comments section for all to read.

What can't be done:

No replies to vulgar, disrespectful emails.
The system is programmed to look for certain words that are disrespectful and will automatically delete such emails. They don't get to the pharmacist. This will blacklist your email address automatically.

Email addresses or questions are not saved.
They are deleted once answered and not stored in a database. Should you need to follow up, copy the previous question(s) along with the new message for quick reference.

The pharmacist does not reply to emails that are not relevant to the topic he or she authored. They are forwarded to the author of the topic and are under no obligation to reply.

We encourage pharmacists to respond to questions but are under no obligations to answer questions.

 

 

 

 

 

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