Intracranial hypertension is an increased pressure occurring in the cranial cavity. Often, the pathology is caused by head injuries and a rapid increase in content in the volumes inside the skull of the patient. In this case, they speak of acute intracranial hypertension.
The chronic form of VCG develops gradually. The patient can not immediately suspect a disease. This form of illness is referred to ideopathic diseases, as the cause can not be determined.
The syndrome affects absolutely all areas of the brain. More often this pathology affects men. The frequency of development of pathology in children is evenly distributed between boys and girls.
Venous intracranial hypertension
Intracranial hypertension of this type is caused by a violation of venous blood outflow from the cranial cavity.
To the occurrence of this pathology may lead to thrombosis of venous sinuses, as well as increased pressure in the chest cavity( emphysema, tumor formation of the mediastinum).
Syndrome of benign HSG
In ICD-10, benign intracranial hypertension is separately identified. This type of hypertension is caused by increased cerebrospinal pressure, which is accompanied by a lack of changes in the cerebrospinal fluid( cerebral fluid) and the absence of volumetric formations in the cranial cavity.
The patient swells the optic nerve, as well as the edema of the stagnant disc. Quite often, the functions of vision are disturbed.
This syndrome, as a rule, is not accompanied by severe neurological disorders.
Idiopathic hypertension is a condition with increased cerebrospinal pressure around the brain. The syndrome is known in the same way as the pseudotumor of the brain, which results from the appearance of symptoms suggesting the presence of a brain tumor, although does not.
From the anatomical point of view in cerebral space is cerebrospinal fluid. As the amount increases, the pressure around the brain increases, provided that the absorption and outflow decrease.
Symptoms of intracranial pressure in adults may indicate the onset of development of HFG.
About what you can take from a headache read here.
Causes of intracranial hypertension
Although the causes of idiopathic hypertension are not known at the moment, there are suggestions on this. Pathology develops without any external causes, but can arise because of a number of risk factors:
- Excess body weight.
- Chronic stress.
- Blood coagulation disorder.
- Voltage of the physical plan, which lasted a long time.
- Reception of vasoconstrictive drugs and hormones.
- Diseases of the endocrine system.
- Transfer of asphyxia at birth.
Symptoms of
Increased pressure is just one of the signs of the disease, except idiopathic hypertension. Symptoms of the pathology are manifested in different ways in children and adults .
Symptoms of HFG in adults
The main symptoms of of intracranial hypertension in adults:
- Headaches.
- Nausea and vomiting that occur when eating. Most often occur before lunch.
- Failures in the movement of eyeballs and visual impairment in general.
- Impaired consciousness. The process can be characterized from mild stun to coma.
Symptoms of mild hypertension can be:
- bifurcation in the eyes;
- slow heart rate;
- oppression of consciousness.
Moderate intracranial hypertension appears brighter with decreasing atmospheric pressure.
Indirect characteristics:
- Sleep disturbance.
- Changes in behavior.
- Mental disorders in development.
- Chin tremor
- "Marble" skin.
- Bleeding from the nose.
- Ventricular expansion, defined on a neurosonogram.
On video the doctor answers the question about the treatment of intracranial hypertension by indirect signs:
Symptoms of intracranial hypertension in children
The first symptoms can be expressed even in newborns. The breast can feel a constant worry, which is pronounced day and night. The condition is accompanied by nausea, in some cases vomiting.
The child can have a rapid increase in the volume of the head, accompanied by tension or swelling of the fontanel and eye swelling .In some cases, there may be a Cushing phenomenon, which is a combination of arterial hypertension and bradycardia.
Sometimes the child can observe indirect signs of moderate HFG, they consist of drowsiness or, conversely, insomnia.
Diagnosis of the disease
If it is required to determine the pressure inside the skull, then it becomes necessary to insert a special needle equipped with a manometer into its fluid cavities.
This procedure is rather complicated and unsafe, it is carried out exclusively in adults. To establish the diagnosis, other methods are used:
- Ultrasonic examination of blood vessels to establish the violation of blood outflow from the skull.
- Magnetic resonance imaging( MRI) or X-ray computed tomography( CT) of the brain. An indirect MR or CT sign is the presence of a cluster of cerebrospinal fluid in the form of a butterfly inside the brain and a wide white border outside, expanding the fluid cavities.
- Echoencephalography.
Diagnosis of the disease in infants occurs in other ways, which include:
- Neurologist examination of the condition of the fontanel in a newborn, during which the evaluation also takes place of head size and muscle tone.
- Neurosonography( ultrasound of the brain).
- Ophthalmologist examination of the fundus in the infants.
- Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.
Methods of treatment of intracranial hypertension
Let's figure out how to treat intracranial hypertension.
Treatment of pathology should be aimed at eliminating the factor that led to increased pressure in the brain. In the course of treatment, doctors use methods that contribute to the normalization of body weight.
Conservative treatment
In the course of this treatment, the patient is prescribed medications. Patients suffering from intracranial hypertension are prescribed diuretic medications( diuretics).
For a long time, excellent indicators for this purpose are given by Acetazolamide( Diacarb).In some cases, diuretics are added with dexamethasone and methylprednisolone.
Breasts are prescribed massage, nootropic and only in some cases diuretics. Sometimes in children the cure comes on their own.
To prevent relapse, patients should limit themselves to drinking water and salt. Must follow the body weight. Refuse to smoke and alcohol. Doing sports will help improve blood circulation. As a medicinal preventive agent, a doctor can prescribe Mexidol.
Surgical treatment
Treatment of pathology by surgery is carried out in the case when taking medications did not give the expected effect. To lower the pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid, repeated lumbar punctures are performed.
Neurosurgeons use a sufficient number of shunt procedures to normalize intracranial pressure.
It happens that discomfort in the head lies in wait for pregnant women. For example, such a problem may become dizziness during pregnancy.
Read also about a rare, but serious disease of the brain, in which neurons die, and the mood of the patient is for no reason increased.
A serious brain disease becomes the formation of hematomas in it. Details http: //gidmed.com/ bolezni-nevrologii / sherepno-mozgovye-travmy / gematoma-golovnogo-mozga.html
Treatment without medication
Treatment of pathology without medication is performed with the use of osteopathy, as well as manual therapy. The patient may be assigned special gymnastics, which will help to normalize the pressure, acupuncture, physiotherapy and proper diet.
Treatment with folk remedies
Treatment of intracranial hypertension can be done with folk remedies. Most often for these purposes, use herbal infusions and decoctions that help reduce blood pressure.
It should be remembered that folk remedies are only able to facilitate the course of the disease, but not cure it completely.
Good for these purposes, a decoction of lavender. It is necessary to take a teaspoon of dried flowers, pour a glass of water and boil for a couple of minutes, then leave to infuse for more than half an hour.
Drink the resulting broth on a tablespoon in the afternoon for one month. After the course, take a break for two weeks and then repeat the application.
Possible consequences of intracranial hypertension
In the case of not provided the necessary treatment for intracranial hypertension, the disease can lead to more serious consequences.
These may be cerebral ischemia, displacement of its structures, compression of the brain, in extreme cases - death. Also, untreated pathology can lead to the development of mental disorders, paralysis, mental retardation and blindness.
If we talk about intracranial hypertension and service in the army , then the military enlistment office assesses the state of health of the recruit on the basis of pneumoencephalography or MRI, the conclusion of an ophthalmologist and indices of cerebrospinal fluid pressure.
When carrying out all the doctor's recommendations and observing the rules of a healthy lifestyle, benign intracranial hypertension can be completely eliminated.
Look at the video of the doctor's story about intracranial hypertension: