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
- Disproportionately large size of the child's head circumference, child's forehead - large convex
- Head circumference increases at a rapid pace
- Bulging of a large fontanel
- Presence of distance between seams
- Symptom Gref (a symptom of the "setting sun") - the child's eyes "look" down, and between the upper eyelid and the iris you can see a strip of white sclera
- On the head of the child under the skin are clearly visible thin, convoluted veins
- Lag in child development
- Tearfulness, increased irritability of the child
- Abundant regurgitation, there is no increase in body weight
- Drowsiness, lethargy
Acquired hydrocephalus
At any age, acquired hydrocephalus may develop.
The causes of acquired hydrocephalus
- Tumors of the brain
- Previously transferred encephalitis or meningitis
- Formation of adhesions in brain tissue after neurosurgical operations on the brain
The main signs of gyrocephaly in older children
- Severe headaches
- Vomiting, nausea.
- Flashes before my eyes, double vision.
- Pain behind the eye sockets.
- Increased fatigue, weakness.
- Apathy, drowsiness of the child, refusal of games, irritability, tearfulness.
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.