Responsible parents are seriously worried when their beloved child addresses them with unusual health complaints. What to do if a child’s neck hurts? We will try to figure out in which situations you should immediately consult a doctor.
Was there an injury?
All children regularly fall from somewhere and hit something. Such is the retribution for curiosity and new discoveries. The main task of each parent is to timely assess the extent of the incident. In some cases, a cool compress and brilliant green are enough, in others it is urgent to visit a doctor. But what if the child’s neck hurts for no apparent reason? To get started, try to remember how the previous 24 hours went. It is possible that the discomfort today is an echo of yesterday's fall. If you are likely to get injured, be sure to visit your doctor. Under such conditions, you can immediately record to the surgeon.
There is no reason to panic, there is reason to worry!
You can try on your own to understand why a child’s neck hurts. Very often, the cause of pain is the incorrect formation of posture. If the child is inactive and prefers to sit at the computer instead of sports, it makes sense to think about the health of his back and neck. In the absence of deviations and contraindications, everyone should, from a very early age, exercise in the morning, do physical work as much as possible, regularly walk and play sports. If complaints of pain in the neck begin immediately after waking up, it makes sense to check the organization of the berth. The mattress and pillow must be selected individually, in accordance with the weight, height and age of the child. Problems with posture can often be seen with the naked eye. If the child holds his back unevenly, stoops and often sits “hunched over”, it is time to take action.
Excessive loads and drafts
The cause of pain in the cervical spine may be excessive load. This symptom may appear if the child wears a too heavy briefcase or strained on the eve of the appearance of unpleasant sensations. Make sure that your son or daughter does not lift weights and does not participate in dubious endurance disputes with friends. Even a classic physical exercise, such as pulling up, can harm a child with too many repetitions. If the child has a sore neck on one side, it is likely that he caught it. Walking in windy weather without a scarf and airing the apartment with drafts too can lead to the appearance of such a symptom. In both of these cases, prevention is easier and more enjoyable than treatment. Teach your child to be conscious about his own health from an early age.
Lymph node inflammation
Pain in the neck can occur with inflammation of the lymph nodes. Most often, this disease begins as a complication of any infectious process in the body. Lymph nodes can become inflamed with respiratory diseases, flu, and otitis media. Recognizing this pathology is easy at home. In inflammatory processes, the lymph node enlarges and hurts. There may also be an increase in body temperature, general malaise, and weakness. In this case, you cannot delay with a visit to a doctor. In the early stages, inflammation of the lymph nodes can be easily treated with medication, and in advanced cases, surgery may be necessary.
Muscle inflammation
One of the most common causes of neck pain in the smallest is inflammation of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The cause of this phenomenon may be a birth injury. It is important to identify the problem and treat it in time. How to understand that a child’s neck hurts if he doesn’t say anything yet? With any ailment, the baby behaves uneasily, often cries and is naughty. In inflammatory processes in the sternocleidomastoid muscle, the child usually cannot turn his head in one direction. If you observe the symptoms described by your own son or daughter, be sure to consult a doctor.
Meningitis is a dangerous disease
One of the worst childhood diseases is meningitis. The cause of the disease is an infection. After it enters the body, a whole complex of unpleasant symptoms is observed. The most common ones: vomiting, weakness, fever, fainting, seizures, pain in the muscles. Often with meningitis, the back of the child’s neck also hurts. With this symptom, tension of the occipital muscles is observed. Meningitis is a very dangerous disease in which only timely and competent therapy can help. There are other infectious diseases, the course of which may be accompanied by pain in the neck. The most common among them are osteomyelitis and polio.
Other causes of neck pain: torticollis and arthritis
Torticollis is a disease better known under the popular name "torticollis." This is a congenital deformity of the cervical spine. With this pathology, the child has a neck ache on the side when trying to keep it straight. As a result of this, the baby is constantly forced to tilt his neck in one direction. The cause of pain in the neck can be diseases of the spine. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is a pathology that is very common in children under the age of 16. With this disease, the clinical picture can be supplemented by high fever, the appearance of a rash, inflammation of the lymph nodes, increased sweating. In juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, treatment is also advisable to start as early as possible, otherwise the disease can spread to internal organs.
Ways to relieve neck pain before visiting a doctor
Diseases in which a child has a neckache behind his back are a great many. It is almost impossible to determine the exact cause of the appearance of such a symptom independently at home. And this means that the sick child must be shown to the doctor as soon as possible. If the pain is acute and too severe, or if the patient is injured, you can even call an ambulance. In cases where you need to wait for a doctor, you can try to conduct painkillers. Attention: all the procedures described below are not treatment, their task is only to bring short-term relief to the patient. The easiest way to relieve the child of discomfort for a while is to give him a pill of a universal painkiller suitable for age. You can try to do a gentle massage of the neck area in which discomfort is most felt. Try to massage your skin gently, limiting yourself to light strokes. Aggressive massage can only do harm if applied before an accurate diagnosis is made. When a child’s neck hurts, not all parents know what to do. One of the most popular folk remedies - compresses and lotions. They can only be done if the lymph nodes are not enlarged. If you suspect an injury or inflammation / muscle strain, you can try a cool compress. Some experts on folk recipes recommend making warm lotions, for example with alcohol. However, many doctors argue that such treatment is not always useful. If the child should be at home for some time awaiting the appointment of a doctor, try to ensure that he is
sparing. Occupy the patient with reading and calm games. The road to the hospital must also be arranged with maximum comfort.
To which doctor to make an appointment?
If the child has lymph nodes in the neck, what specialist should I make an appointment with? Start by visiting your local pediatrician. This specialist can make a preliminary diagnosis and send for additional examinations. For neck pains, a consultation with specialists such as a rheumatologist, orthopedist, neurologist, infectious disease specialist, and ENT doctor is usually additionally prescribed. It will not be superfluous to take a blood test. By its results, it will be possible to understand whether there is inflammation. Further, the parents can only observe all the appointments of the supervising doctor. It is important to understand that it is necessary to treat a disease that has caused painful sensations. Most often, complex therapy is used, in which massages, therapeutic exercises, medications can be prescribed.