Increased intracranial pressure in children

Increased intracranial pressure is a consequence of serious brain diseases in children and adults. In children, hydrocephalus is the most common cause of increased intracranial pressure. With hydrocephalus, the cerebral cavity accumulates spinal fluid (cerebrospinal fluid), it leads to disruption of the brain. Increased intracranial pressure in children can also be caused by such serious diseases as head trauma, swelling in the cranial cavity, meningitis (when the membranes of the brain become inflamed), aneurysm rupture, etc.

Why does intracranial pressure increase?

Intracranial pressure in children may increase and decrease throughout the day. In children with physical exertion, crying, crying, strong emotions, etc., there is an increase in intracranial pressure. Minor fluctuations in intracranial pressure do not need treatment, since they are characteristic of all people.

Hydrocephalus and increased intracranial pressure of children

Hydrocephalus is an excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (spinal fluid) in the cranial cavity. Depending on the reason and when the child developed hydrocephalus, two main forms of this disease are distinguished: the congenital form and the acquired form of hydrocephalus.

Congenital hydrocephalus

Congenital hydrocephalus in a child develops in utero and at birth it already exists. The main causes of congenital hydrocephalus include genetic abnormalities, defects in the outflow pathway of the cerebrospinal fluid, and hemorrhages in the cranial cavity.
Symptoms of hydrocephalus and increased intracranial pressure in children under one year have some features. In newborns and infants it is due to the fact that they have fontanel. With increasing pressure fontanels increase in size, this leads to the fact that the child increases the circumference of the head.
In children after one year, the fontanelles are overgrown, so the head circumference does not increase in size from the increase in intracranial pressure, but they have other important symptoms of hydrocephalus.
In a child, an increase in intracranial pressure can not proceed unnoticed. Anxious symptoms can be noticed even by a person who does not have medical education.

The main signs of increased intracranial pressure in newborns and infants

Acquired hydrocephalus

At any age, acquired hydrocephalus may develop.

The causes of acquired hydrocephalus

The main signs of gyrocephaly in older children

Treatment of hydrocephalus and increased intracranial pressure in children

If the intracranial pressure is not normalized in time, then the child's brain can not develop normally, this will lead to mental retardation of the child and disability.
With hydrocephalus, medication does not have a significant effect, so the medicine for the child can be prescribed temporarily, for example, before the operation.
Surgical operation is the main method of hydrocephalus treatment.

During the operation, a shunt (tube) is installed, which will remove excess liquid from the skull cavity. Such a tube can "dump" the cerebrospinal fluid into the heart, or into the abdominal cavity. The tube can be installed for life or temporarily. After this surgery, the children very quickly recover. Timely bypass allows children to develop well and keep up with their peers.