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Headache, Had A Shunt, Have Seizures. Ear Throbbing. CAT Scan Showed Congestion In Sinuses.

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Posted on Sat, 23 Jun 2012
Question: My daughter has severe headaches. She has a shunt and has had seizures over the years. She is 14 now and for most of her life she has suffered severe headaches. She has had a cat scan done in the last two weeks to rule out the shunt. She describes her headaches as being a throbbing pain in mainly the forehead, sometimes it jumps from one side of her head to the other but mainly in the forehead. She also complains of intermittent ear throbs that don't last to long. Her recent headache is lasting 3 weeks steady now. I've contacted her neurologist and they don't know what to do. Every pain medication she takes worsens the headaches, even tried naproxen. Her cat scan showed some congestion in her sinuses so the doctor had put her on antibiotics for 10 days hoping that would help but it hasn't. Don't know what to do to help her...
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Answered by Dr. Hema Yadav (9 hours later)
Hello ,
Thanks for posting your query.
Frontal headache can commonly be caused by frontal sinusitis, migraines, tension headache, hypertension or refractive errors or tumours.
Your daughters symptoms do resemble that of frontal sinusitis rather than shunt complications.
Since your daughters CT scan rules out other possibilities except hypertension and refractive errors you should get her blood pressure and vision checked by her doctor.
If any history of migraines in self or family , anti migraine treatment may provide some relief.
If all other factors are ruled out then you should consult your Ear nose throat surgeon for treatment of frontal sinusitis.
Mild cases are treated by topical decongestants and antiinflammatory analgesics in addition to antibiotics.In severe cases or cases resistant to local treatment, functional endoscopic sinus
surgery is indicated in order to re-establish drainage and ventilation of the sinuses.
Hope I have answered your query.
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
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Answered by
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Dr. Hema Yadav

Pediatrician, Infectious Diseases

Practicing since :2005

Answered : 1528 Questions

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Headache, Had A Shunt, Have Seizures. Ear Throbbing. CAT Scan Showed Congestion In Sinuses.

Hello ,
Thanks for posting your query.
Frontal headache can commonly be caused by frontal sinusitis, migraines, tension headache, hypertension or refractive errors or tumours.
Your daughters symptoms do resemble that of frontal sinusitis rather than shunt complications.
Since your daughters CT scan rules out other possibilities except hypertension and refractive errors you should get her blood pressure and vision checked by her doctor.
If any history of migraines in self or family , anti migraine treatment may provide some relief.
If all other factors are ruled out then you should consult your Ear nose throat surgeon for treatment of frontal sinusitis.
Mild cases are treated by topical decongestants and antiinflammatory analgesics in addition to antibiotics.In severe cases or cases resistant to local treatment, functional endoscopic sinus
surgery is indicated in order to re-establish drainage and ventilation of the sinuses.
Hope I have answered your query.
Regards