Intracranial pressure in an infant: signs, treatment
Intracranial pressure in infants, as well as arterial, may increase for a short time. The reasons for this can be quite natural: psycho-emotional stress or, for example, the process of defecation. The increase in ICP occurs because of greater stress, so it can appear even in a baby sucking milk. A short-term increase in intracranial pressure does not require treatment. But what if this condition is permanent and how to recognize it? We will tell about this in today's article "Intracranial pressure in the infant with signs of treatment."
ICP is formed due to pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid, which is located in the ventricles of the brain, in the channels of the spinal cord, and between them and the bones of the skull and spine. Each hour, this fluid is updated by 15%.Inadequate intracranial pressure in infancy may occur for several reasons, including abnormal development and inflammation of the brain, some tumors, rapid fusion of the skull bones, brain membrane diseases( meningitis), or various injuries. It follows that increased intracranial pressure is only a symptom of the disease. Intracranial pressure: signs.
Symptoms of increased intracranial pressure are different for infants and older children. In the first, this is a rapid increase in the head, rolling out and draining down the eyeballs, lack of desire to drink, sometimes vomiting, frequent regurgitation, swelling of the fontanel and veins of the cranial vault, seam divisions on the skull, strabismus.
Older children suffer from persistent headaches with pain, vomiting, mental retardation, strabismus. They quickly get tired and have a tendency to change their mood and cramps, their motor skills are far from normal.
However, it is only possible to finally determine whether intracranial pressure is increased by research that will also help to find the cause of this problem. So, thoracic children are ultrasound examination of the skull through the unclosed still large fontanel, and the older children are prescribed a computer tomography and examine the fundus. The edema of the optic nerves in older children can be detected by the oculist. Measurement of fluid pressure is carried out by surgical intervention, in which the intraventricular and lumbar punctures are performed. The effectiveness of the ECHO-encephalography, which is very popular in our country, has not been proved yet.
When the ventricles of the brain increase, a whole complex of symptoms is manifested, among which there is increased intracranial pressure. This complex is called "hypertensive-hydrocephalic syndrome", it can be observed in various diseases. This complex includes such symptoms as a bad dream, unreasonable deterioration of appetite, trembling in the hands, legs and chin, regurgitation. The ventricles of the brain can expand without inflammatory processes and in the absence of congenital changes.
Children with "hypertensive hydrocephalic syndrome" usually display symptoms such as hyperactivity, emotional instability, absent-mindedness, impulsivity, inattention, poor sleep, fatigue, headaches, vomiting, etc. Children are assigned an examination of the fundus and electroencephalography, With improper development of optic discs-one of the types of tomography: computer or magnetic resonance imaging.
Ventricular enlargement often occurs with perinatal encephalopathy, which can occur due to all kinds of negative factors accompanying pregnancy or present within a month after the birth of the child. The frequent cause of the disease is a lack of oxygen in the fetus, which can be caused by various infections, toxicosis in late pregnancy, poor ecology. Intrauterine hypoxia inhibits the development of the fetus, including the development of the brain, the areas of which are not mature enough at birth. The diagnosis of "perinatal encephalopathy" requires additional examinations: the neonatal patient is constantly observed by a neuropathologist, he is measured by the growth rate of the head. Perhaps, the consultation of the neurosurgeon will not be superfluous.
Intracranial pressure: treatment.
With a constant increase in the amount of cerebrospinal fluid in conjunction with the enlarged ventricles of the brain, as a rule, the diagnosis is "hydrocephalus".This disease must be treated in detail and quickly. A diarrhea and other medications are prescribed for a sick child. Hydrocephalus, caused by some reasons, may not be cured by traditional means, in this case resort to surgery.
If spinal fluid does not increase in volume during perinatal encephalopathy, then diuretics are not prescribed. To treat this disease you need drugs that nourish the brain and improve blood circulation, as well as therapeutic exercises, swimming and special massage. This disease can lead subsequently to the development of such a disease as cerebral dysfunction. It is treated in the same way as perinatal encephalopathy, everything else is prescribed sedatives, medications for the treatment of blood vessels and vitamins.
This method of treatment is not common to all, since the symptoms manifested in one may differ from the symptoms manifested in another patient. To cure the disease using acupuncture, treatment with music, physiotherapy( electrophoresis, laser, dry immersion).The best result can be achieved if you consult with both a neurologist and a psychologist. And remember: your baby in this situation as ever needs a caress, love and care, in kindness and attention. His further life is entirely up to you.
