Children often complain that their neck hurts.
Parents do not always take their complaints seriously, and most often they simply don’t react.
But, nevertheless, stupor and aching in the neck can indicate the presence of serious diseases.
A child’s neck hurts: causes
The following causes of neck pain in a child can be distinguished:
1. Inflammation of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Muscle clamping occurs in the neck as a result of trauma during childbirth. The child can turn his head only in one direction, the muscles in this area will become painful sensitivity.
2. Muscle spasm. Children can wake up with severe pain in the neck, most often it is localized on one side. The exact cause of the cramping is unknown, although it can be assumed that the baby was blown up in a draft.
3. Inflammation of the lymph nodes in the neck. This reason needs to be taken quite seriously, since the likelihood of developing meningitis is high.
4. Meningitis is an infection of the meninges. The disease most often affects children under the age of 5 years. In children, the temperature rises, the head and neck begin to hurt. From time to time, the child may struggle in fits and fainting. A sign of severe meningitis is a rash of small pimples. If suddenly these symptoms were observed in the baby, you should definitely consult a doctor.
5. Torticollis - a rather painful condition in which the child is forced to keep his neck in only one position. Due to constant pain, it is simply not possible to hold your head normally. Torticollis can be congenital and acquired. If you do not start treating congenital torticollis before 10 years of age, then the baby's face can become asymmetric. In adolescence, other forms of the disease may develop.
The above reasons are basic, but other rarer ones can be distinguished:
1. Side effect of drugs, cerebral palsy.
2. In older children, neck pain may occur due to experiences and stresses.
3. Complications after a sore throat.
4. Tumor, abscess, intracranial hemorrhage.
As you can see, there are many causes of neck pain in children, they are all different and require some treatment. Parents cannot establish a diagnosis on their own, so you need to be examined by a specialist.
Neck pain in a child: first aid
The first thing parents should do if their child has a sore neck is to visit a medical facility. But in the absence of such an opportunity, it is necessary to take certain actions to relieve pain.
You can relieve discomfort with the help of muscle discharge: if the muscles are completely relaxed, the pain can recede. It is necessary to gently press in those places where the pain is felt especially sharply.
Cold helps well; it needs to be applied to a sore spot. But it helps only if you attach it immediately after the onset of pain. You can provide first aid on your own in all cases, except for meningitis. When the symptoms of this disease appear, you need to take the child to the hospital as soon as possible for hospitalization.
If the diagnosis of meningitis has been ruled out, you can give your baby painkillers.
Important! Take a good look at the bed on which your child sleeps, as well as the pillow. It is better to purchase an orthopedic mattress and pillow, they will contribute to the development of proper posture.
If your child constantly complains that his neck hurts, it is better not to risk it and not self-medicate. Only after establishing an accurate diagnosis, you can look for ways to solve the problem.
Neck pain in a child: treatment
The first thing parents should do is make sure the child has no meningitis.
After this diagnosis is excluded, you can give painkillers - Ibuprofen, Nurofen. Try to make your baby move his neck as little as possible.
If the occurrence of pain has become a complication after a cold, wearing heavy objects, an uncomfortable position in a dream, then the treatment will include dry heat and peace. Experts recommend drinking anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, pick them up depending on the age of the child.
If neck pain appeared after a sore throat, no special treatment is needed. Just help the child to take a comfortable position in which he will not be so strong. After some time, the discomfort will disappear.
In order to relieve muscle tension, you need to lightly massage the pain points, and put heat to your neck at night and smear it with a warming ointment.
In the case when the torticollis or other diseases of the spine became the cause of the pain, the specialist prescribes physiotherapeutic procedures, as well as therapeutic massage and special exercises. Do not do without medications - gels and ointments. If you start treating torticollis on time, then it will pass quickly, which means that there will not be any complications.
If the pain occurs along with other symptoms, such as vomiting, fever, it is necessary to call an ambulance.
Be sure to monitor how the child walks, whether he holds the posture correctly. The resting place should be correct, as already described above, it is better to purchase orthopedic accessories.
In addition to conservative methods of treatment, it is recommended to perform special exercises, but of course only in cases where the age of the child allows.
Exercise number 1
Place your child in a high-backed chair. Put the baby’s hands on his head so that his thumbs touch the cheekbones and the rest are on the back of his head. Let the hands put pressure on her head, preventing her from moving back.
Exercise number 2
Leave the child in the same position. Let the baby slowly throw its head back, but at the same time the eyes should look forward.
Exercise number 3
In the same position, sitting on a chair, tell the child to throw his head back and begin to turn it in different directions.
These are general exercises to relieve pain. An individual course of treatment can only be developed by a doctor, based on the diagnosis.
A child’s neck hurts: folk remedies
In folk medicine, there are many recipes that can save a child from neck pain. All of them are safe and effective, because they contain only natural ingredients.
The most common recipes:
1. Tincture of the series. In order to cook it, take one spoonful of the string and pour boiling water over it, set aside for 2-4 hours. After this, strain the drink and let the child drink 1/4 cup each time before eating.
2. Use ointment based on eucalyptus, hypericum, peppermint, pine buds. Take the ingredients in equal proportions and grind to a powder. After that fill all 100 ml of water, put on the fire and cook for 4-5 minutes. After that, add to the product butter and vegetable oil, 70 grams each. Use the ointment only after it cools down. After several procedures, the pain in the neck in the child will recede.
3. Ointment from mint, eucalyptus, calendula, meadowsweet. Take everything in equal amounts, grind well and fill with water, so that it turns into gruel. Apply the finished product to the center of localization of pain, as well as on the sides, leave it for 20-40 minutes, after which remove the ointment with a damp towel.
4. Burdock leaves relieve pain well, but you need to properly prepare them. Heat vegetable oil a little and dip burdock leaves into it. Put on the fire and cook for 30 minutes, then strain the product and use it as an ointment.
5. Relieve pain in the neck in a child, using ordinary parsley. Take the roots of the plant (2 tablespoons) and pour 450 ml of water. Put on fire, bring to a boil and cook for one hour. Apply the resulting product to the neck.
6. If the child’s neck pain is due to bleeding, you can use the following remedy: take one yolk and a spoon of turpentine, mix, and add one spoon of apple cider vinegar. Massage to a sore neck.
7. For older children, you can drink tincture of a golden mustache. You can buy it at the pharmacy, give the child one teaspoon, twice a day. The course of treatment is 6-8 days.
Treat diseases in children carefully.
Sometimes harmless symptoms can mean the presence of serious diseases.
Contact the experts in time, and in no case do not wait for everything to pass by itself.
