Klarinet Archive - Posting 000177.txt from 2000/05

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] headache
Date: Thu, 4 May 2000 07:29:48 -0400

Cindy in Germany wrote,
>The mother of one of my young students told me today that her daughter gets
>headaches whenever she practices the clarinet. This is no joke. She's only
>in the third grade, not that talented but had been enjoying the clarinet
>until she started getting these headaches. The headaches don't go away until
>a couple of hours after she has practiced. Does anyone know what might be
>going on here? Is she breathing poorly or is she too strained? What should I
>be looking out for? I've never heard of this before. Any suggestions are
>appreciated.

I'm not a doctor, but I certainly agree that this is no joke. There could be
all sorts of different reasons for this problem, but only a doctor who
examines this child should try to answer this question. Please ask the
child's mother to take her *and* the clarinet to the doctor.

I'm guessing that the doctor will probably want to monitor the girl's heart
rate and blood pressure before she starts playing and then through the point
where she's playing with a headache. Hypertension in someone as young as
third grade is unusual, but not unheard of, and it needs to be ruled out,
because, when it does happen, it's serious and could lead to a stroke. Other
cardiovascular abnormalities could also cause headache while playing. Hope
the answer is something less worrisome....

Best--
Lelia

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