Clear answers for your child's headaches, right here in Los Angeles.
If your child's headaches are new, worsening, or interrupting school, Dr. Shawn Sedgh, MD, trained in both pediatrics and neurology, offers in-person evaluations for ages birth through 18 in greater Los Angeles.
Greater Los Angeles
By appointment
Pediatric headache in Los Angeles
If your child in Greater Los Angeles has been getting headaches, you are not alone, we hear this from parents across the communities we already serve, from families whose kids spend long days in classrooms and on screens to teens juggling sports, homework, and not enough sleep. What matters first is naming what you're seeing and when. A headache at age 4 is described differently and means something different than one at age 14. Young children may not say "my head hurts" at all, they may just want to lie down, avoid light, or act irritable. Older kids and teens can usually tell you where it hurts, how often, and what makes it worse. On every page we write, we state the age band for each sign, so you're never left guessing whether what you read applies to your child.
Here's the honest part about worry: most headaches in children are not caused by anything dangerous, and many improve with sleep, hydration, regular meals, and less screen strain. But we won't tell you every headache is fine, because some patterns deserve a closer look, headaches that wake a child from sleep, that are steadily getting worse or more frequent, that come with vomiting, vision changes, or weakness, or that follow a head injury. Search results will swing you between "totally normal" and "something rare and serious." Our job is to help you land in the honest middle, including telling you plainly when we just don't know yet without an evaluation.
For a concrete next step: start a simple headache log for two to three weeks, when it happens, how long it lasts, what your child ate and slept, and anything that helped. Bring that to your pediatrician first if the pattern is mild and occasional. But if the headaches are frequent, worsening, disrupting school, or come with any of the warning signs above, that's when a neurologist evaluation makes sense, and you don't need to wait for things to get bad enough. You can request a visit with Dr. Shawn Sedgh, MD, who completed residency training in both pediatrics (3 years) and neurology (3 years) and evaluates children from birth through age 18. Families across Greater Los Angeles can request an appointment directly, and we confirm the practice address and phone with you as part of scheduling.
Headache visits for Greater Los Angeles families
Bring the diary and any urgent-care notes. The visit is a history and a neurological exam, then a decision about whether more testing belongs in the plan.
School absences and sleep belong in the story. They do not, by themselves, mean a scan is required.
Why choose us
Dr. Shawn Sedgh, MD completed residency training in pediatrics (3 years) and neurology (3 years).
Dr. Shawn Sedgh, MD completed residency training in pediatrics (3 years) and neurology (3 years).
Explanations are written for the parent, with the age band stated when a sign is described.
Explanations are written for the parent, with the age band stated when a sign is described.
No medication doses are published on patient pages.
No medication doses are published on patient pages.
A visit request goes to Dr. Shawn Sedgh, MD. Practice address and phone are not published until he confirms them.
A visit request goes to Dr. Shawn Sedgh, MD. Practice address and phone are not published until he confirms them.
What to expect.
Urgent signs go to urgent care
Worst-ever, seizure, hard to wake, repeated vomiting, weakness, or fever with a stiff neck.
A short diary
Age, timing, length, and what else you noticed. A week of notes is enough to start.
Exam, then a decision
The neurological exam decides whether watching, treatment discussion, or a scan is the honest next step.
What you should hear at the end
You should hear what kind of headache the story resembles, which warning signs were absent, and what to do if the pattern changes. If something in the exam is not reassuring, that is said directly, with the reason for the next step.
Frequently asked questions
Do you offer Pediatric headache across Greater Los Angeles?
Yes. If your child, whether age 4 or 14, is having headaches that are new, getting worse, or interrupting school, sleep, or play, you can request an in-person evaluation with Dr. Shawn Sedgh, MD, who serves families across greater Los Angeles. His dual residency training in pediatrics and neurology (six years total, covering birth through age 18) means he can tell you what's typical for your child's age, what's worth watching, and what needs a closer look. Send a visit request and it goes directly to Dr. Sedgh; he'll confirm the practice address and phone with you personally.
What makes your Pediatric headache in Los Angeles different?
Most headache information online is written for doctors or for adults, ours is written for you, with the age band stated every time, because a headache in a 4-year-old means something different than the same headache at 14. We tell you plainly what's common, what's still uncertain, and exactly when a headache warrants a neurologist rather than a wait-and-see. And if your child does need that next step, your visit request goes directly to Dr. Shawn Sedgh, MD, whose dual residency training in pediatrics and neurology covers children from birth through age 18.
Does every child with headaches need an MRI?
No. Many childhood headaches are evaluated with a history and an exam alone. A scan is considered when something in the story or the exam is a warning sign, not because the headache is scary.
Which headaches should not wait for a clinic appointment?
A sudden worst headache, a headache with a seizure, repeated vomiting, trouble waking, new weakness or confusion, or fever with a stiff neck should be treated as urgent.