Child Health Advice: Head
These guidelines (topics) are intended to help you determine how sick your child is and if you need to call your child's doctor. Their second purpose is to help you treat your child at home when it is safe to do so.
IMPORTANT! Your doctor's advice and your good judgment should always take precedence over information in these guidelines.
- Fever
- Any temperature > 100.6 F Ear (tympanic) temperature: not reliable < 6 months old.
- Hay Fever (Allergic Rhinitis)
- An allergic reaction of the nose and sinuses to an inhaled substance, usually a pollen.
- Headache
- Pain or discomfort of the scalp or forehead areas. The face and ears are excluded.
- Head Injury
- Scalp injuries (cut, scrape, bruise or swelling), skull injury: bruises, fracture.
- Lymph Nodes, Swollen
- Nodes with a viral infection are usually 1/2 to 1 inch across.
- Lice
- Itching of the scalp is the main symptom. Nits (white eggs) firmly attached to hair shafts near the skin. Unlike dandruff or sand, nits can't be shaken off the hair shafts.