Pain management 5 year old

Wondering what options there are for headache pain management for my 5 year old. She has serious headaches daily and she wants the pain gone. Tylenol and ibuprofen don’t even touch it. Heat and ice are no help. Any recommendations???
Jeara

The only thing that helps me is steroids (prednisone). Drs not sure why it helps but it’s the only thing that does.

Steroids helped me a lot aswell and my neurosurgeon told my why the steroids work she said it’s because they reduce the amount of csf fluid the body produces which in turn reduces cranial pressure.
Unfortunately there isn’t much that works for the nerve pain that Chiari causes but steroids can help a bit.
Valium also helped me to sleep when things were at their worst.
I suggest hot water bottles and warm baths to relax muscles

Lots of adults on this site. Children are different. I would stick with finding health care professionals who deal with children. That task can be difficult so good luck with that journey.

It is very difficult because her neurologist will not even admit that her approximate 3 mm protrusion is causing the pain or any of her other symptoms. Very frustrating and very sad for mommy to go through with her little girl

The problem is that unless a syrinx is present, its very unlikely that the cause of her headaches is the 3mm protrusion. With kids what happens is a major cause of Chiari is a small posterior fossa (the part of the skull where the cerebellum is situated) which forces a normal sized brain out of the skull. There is a significant body of research which supports this theory in part and researchers have begun to focus on the potential dynamic nature of Chiari in children by looking at the relative growth rates of the skull versus the brain. In other words, if for a period of time the brain grows faster than the skull, then a problem can develop. However, if at a later time the skull catches up with its growth, the problem, or the herniation, resolves itself. Its far mor common than one would think. Chiari in childre can be caused by a spinal fluid leak which lowers the pressure in the spine compared to the brain and essentially pulls the cerebellum down. Some such CSF leaks are known to heal by themselves over time. This is also fairly normal in development.

Despite the likelihood the headaches are NOT caused by the small chiari (some centers won’t call 3mm in a child a chiari in fact) that doesn’t mean she should be left in pain. Are they seeing a pediatric neurologist (a regular one won’t do) 17 percent of children age 4 - 7 have frequent or severe headaches. In fact, migraines are among the top five conditions that affect children.

There are two other things I would do besides aggresivley pushing the issue with the appropriate specialist. First keep a detailed headache journal. Even if the headaches are Chiari, there can be triggers. Detailed records are helpful to any provider. I would also get a script for Occupational Thgerapy. For kids they can do a LOT from self soothing techniques to management techniques.