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Symptoms of disease - pain in the neck in children

Children often complain about shooting up and the pain in my neck, and generally in these complaints is nothing serious. But aching muscles and paralysis in the neck, nevertheless, still deserve your attention for the reason that sometimes it can be a sign of meningitis.



Which diseases there is pain in the neck in children

Causes of pain in the neck in children:

1. Often the cause of pain in the neck in children is an inflammation of the sternocleidomastoid muscles. Neck muscles clamped, possibly as a result of birth trauma. The head of the child not to rotate in one direction, and muscles in the neck with the party may acquire painful sensitivity.

2. A sudden backache in older children is usually the result of muscle spasm. Often the child wakes up with a pain in the neck, usually with one hand. The reason for this is unknown, although sometimes this can be caused by sitting in a draught. Because of the pain, the child rotates and tilts his head to one side; the muscles of the neck with this hand will be stretched and painfully sensitive.

3. A sudden backache have a sick child, most often accompanied by ear pain, pain in the throat and a temperature may be caused by inflammation of lymph nodes on the neck. Nevertheless, it should be taken seriously because of the likelihood of meningitis, so refer to the doctor.

4. Meningitis is an infection of the meninges. It usually affects children under 5 years and represents a danger, especially for very young children.
First, the child is simply, in General, feels bad, his tears, his temperature rises. In older children who are beginning to get a headache and neck, neck becomes compressed, and if a child is not of the year, he may feel worse and worse, and it Fontanelle (soft spot on top of his head begins to swell from the internal pressure; a child can throw his head back. The child may from time to time be seizures, he may lose consciousness.
Rash, consisting of small flat lilac pimples, is a sign of serious meningitis, caused by the meningococcus bacteria.
In fact, in many cases, meningitis is caused by viruses and passes without treatment and without any consequences. If meningitis is caused by bacteria and his time is not treated, it can lead to death or to a permanent violation of the functions of the brain.

Consult the doctor immediately if your child has the above symptoms or if he has high temperature, the bad state of health, and to his chest impossible to touch because of the pain and tension in the neck.

5. Torticollis (often called «rigid neck») - a painful condition in which the child holds his head in a forced position or inclined position. Because of the pain, the normal position of the head is impossible, or perhaps only for a short time.

There are congenital torticollis (present at birth), or neonatal, which affects some of the newborn. Doctors do not agree that this condition develops during fetal development, or in very early life. As a result of the disease occurs reduction and fixation of reduced muscle contracture is formed, creates a forced position of the head. In some cases, the disease may not be obvious to parents until the child reaches 3 or 4 years, and the neck will not grow and does not lengthen. For a reason that is still not quite clear, torticollis is observed on the right side of the neck in 3 of 4 cases. Torticollis are sometimes combined with a defect of the hip joint, causing a difficulty or slowing walk, or walk with a limp.

Congenital torticollis is sometimes associated with illness on the same side of the neck. Head tilted in the side, and his chin turned to the opposite side, which gives the child the wrong position. Congenital torticollis are usually small knotted formation of scar tissue on the affected side.

If innate torticollis time does not heal (up to 10 years of age), the person of the child can become skewed. Stunned by the party becomes shorter than the opposite, where the muscle fibers of the constant voltage lengthen and lengthen. The muscles of the neck will be permanently damaged, and may develop progressive abnormal curvature of the neck and the limited movement of the head. However, the proper and vigorous treatment (including physical therapy) can fix most forms of congenital or neonatal, torticollis, and no signs of the disease remain.

In childhood and adolescence may develop other forms of torticollis and pains in the neck. Children can face temporary stiffness of the neck and pain during some viral diseases, such as influenza, measles or chickenpox.

more rare causes pain in the neck in children:
- Side effects of some drugs, arthritis, defects and abnormal development of the cervical vertebrae and a children's cerebral paralysis.
- In older children, as in adults, painful clip in the neck can be a consequence of stress. It also leads to intense headache.
- In children and adolescents pain in the neck and the restriction of movements of the head are often a manifestation of cervical lymphadenitis (complication of tonsillitis).
- Stiff neck is observed in meningitis and other severe infections, such as pneumonia (meningism). Pain in the neck can be accompanied by a and polio is rare in the present time the disease.
- Some of the causes of pain in the neck in children are the same as in adults: it is intracranial hemorrhage, abscesses and tumors. In children, in addition, there is often acute torticollis. Pain in the neck may also be a manifestation of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.



Which doctor should I contact if there is a pain in the neck in children

  • Orthopedist-traumatologist
  • Infectious disease physician,
  • Rheumatologist
  • An otholaryngologist
  • Children's neurologist


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Do you feel neck hurts in children? You should be very careful approach to your health in general. People pay not enough attention to the symptoms of the disease and don't realize that these diseases can be critically dangerous. There are many diseases that in the beginning didn't manifest in our body, but in the end it turns out, unfortunately, it have already been treated too late. Every disease has its own specific features typical symptoms - called symptoms of the disease. Definition of symptoms is the first step in the diagnosis of diseases in general. You just need a few times a year to be screened by a doctor, not only to prevent a terrible disease, but also to maintain a healthy spirit in a body and the organism in general.

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Map of the symptoms and the types of pain is intended solely for educational purposes. We strongly recommend do NOT self-medicate; on all matters relating to the definition of the disease and ways of its treatment, contact your doctor. Md-tips is not responsible for the consequences of use information posted on the site.

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