Increase in intracranial pressure, both in a child and in an adult, is associated with impaired circulation of the CSF in the body. In infants, the most common cause of the disease is excessive fluid in the brain.
Intracranial pressure in infants is a frequent phenomenon, which can be caused by prolonged labor, weighed down by pregnancy, intrauterine cord with umbilical cord.
In case of detection of such symptoms, you should immediately contact a neurologist.
Symptoms and causes of intracranial pressure
Most often this is the result of protracted, difficult births, complications during child bearing, cord embedment and so on-all this contributes to the development of hypoxia. After the birth, often the newborn is gradually recovering some pathologies, which were caused by complex births.
Basically, intracranial pressure in a baby rises slightly and gradually, over time, comes back to normal, but remember that there are also exceptions, so this issue should be treated with particular seriousness.
The signs of intracranial pressure in infants include:
- outwardly a fontanel;
- increase head volume, its accelerated growth, disproportionate head, large forehead;
- discrepancy of the skull bones;
- slowing the development of the child;
- excessive manifestation of subcutaneous venous plexuses;
- impaired vision, strabismus.
Increased intracranial pressure may indicate the presence of serious pathologies in the child. It can be a brain tumor, hydrocephalus, encephalitis, brain trauma or metabolic disorders. Nervous excitability, increased fatigue can also cause a violation in the body.
You can also learn about the symptoms of intracranial pressure in adults. Characteristics of intracranial pressure in adults and its treatment.
And do you know how many people live with a diagnosis of astrocytoma of the brain? Get the answer to this question here.
What symptoms may indicate increased intracranial pressure in infants
- excessive tearfulness, irritability;
- lethargy and drowsiness;
- restless sleep;
- nausea, frequent regurgitation;
- symptom Greffe - between the iris and the upper eyelid can be clearly seen white sclera, with the eyes looking down;
- tilting the head back;
- start;
- protrusion of the eyes;
- no gain in weight.
A small child can not yet tell about his state of health, his behavior only has to guess about any violations in his health.
Diagnosis( methods) of increased intracranial pressure in infants
Increased intracranial pressure in infants can be determined using the following methods:
- Inspection from a neurologist who performs an external examination and appoints all necessary studies.
- Inspection from the oculist, in which the eye is checked.
- Neurosonography( ultrasound of the brain).Sufficiently informative method, but there are certain nuances: any site with altered echogenicity can be perceived as a pathology;and, conversely, this method may not reflect all types of brain damage.
The study is not conducted on the first three birthdays of a child. Its essence lies in studying the tone and filling blood vessels. The accuracy of the method depends on the emotional state of the baby and on how the sensors are attached.
- Echoencephalography. The method is much inferior to the most modern methods of research. The disadvantage is that newborns are treated with the same parameters as for older children. And this is despite the fact that in infants they are much higher.
- Axial computer and magnetic resonance imaging are the most accurate methods of investigation, although they have small errors in the results.
- The most reliable method of examining ICP is puncture. Its essence lies in the introduction of a needle into the cerebrospinal canal or the ventricles of the brain. According to the method, you can find out exactly the amount of intracranial pressure in a child.
Treatment of
Self-treatment of increased intracranial pressure in infants should not be engaged.
Only the doctor can be trusted with the definition of methods and tactics of treatment. The main goal is the normalization of intracranial pressure.
The effects of complex birth and aggravated pregnancy can be eliminated by prolonged breastfeeding of the child, compliance with sleep and long walks in the open air, but this is by no means the only way to normalize intracranial pressure in the baby, as in some cases, medical therapy is necessary.
The course of treatment includes:
- preparations, calming the nervous system of the child;
- diuretics and drugs that improve blood circulation in blood vessels;
- vitamin complexes;
- physiotherapy procedures, massage;
- in the case of anatomical pathology or the presence of a tumor, a surgical procedure is performed.
In particularly severe cases, surgical intervention is performed. Install a special tube, pumping out of the cavity of the skull an excess liquid.
Possible complications of
In most children, the intracranial pressure is normalized by the age of six months.
Normally, an adult in prone position intracranial pressure usually ranges from 3 to 15 mm Hg, in children the norm is 3-7 mm Hg, and the rate of intracranial pressure in infants is 1.5-6 mmHg
If the blood pressure does not return, the diagnosis is "Minimal brain dysfunction."This suggests that the infant has a very weak nervous system and at any time ICP can rise again, as a result, the well-being will deteriorate again.
To avoid this, treatment is carried out for prevention purposes in the spring and autumn. The child should be observed periodically from a neurologist.
It is very difficult for a baby to live with increased intracranial pressure. He does not sleep well, quickly gets tired and easily overexcited. Not always physical development in these children corresponds to their age. But the main thing is that without curing ICP, the disease will develop into another form called vegetative-vascular dystonia( VSD).Most often the VSD makes itself felt already in adolescence.
Due to hormonal and age-related changes, the subcortical mechanisms are malfunctioning. And if the child is not cured in time from ICP, then with age, health problems become more serious. The child becomes meteozavisimy, quickly tired, there is deterioration of memory, coordination decreases.
The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky on intracranial pressure in infants
According to the well-known children's physician Yevgeny Komarovsky, all available methods of examining intracranial pressure and examination data do not allow to diagnose this disease with sufficient accuracy.
Due to the fact that increased intracranial pressure in the baby is only one of the symptoms of some concomitant diseases, so remember that any treatment aimed at normalizing intracranial pressure should be under close supervision of the doctor.
Cyst of the brain in newborns is not a cause for concern for parents. This disease is not a tumor and does not carry a direct threat to the life of the child.
What can contribute to the development of an inoperable brain tumor? This can be found at the following link.
The causes of vegetative-vascular dystonia in adolescents and the methods of its treatment can be read in the article - http: //gidmed.com/ bolezni-nevrologii / vegetososudistaja-distonija / vegeto-sosudistaya-distoniya-u-podrostkov.html
Video, which highlights the main causes of increased intracranialpressure in infants, which we will disclose Dr. Komarovsky :