Why there is hydrocephalic syndrome
The syndrome can be associated with congenital and acquired causes.
Symptoms of hydrocephalus syndrome depend on the patient's age. Photo: Getty Among the congenital, you can distinguish:
- complications during pregnancy and childbirth;
- birth before the term - up to 36 weeks of pregnancy;
- delayed delivery after 42 weeks of pregnancy;
- traumatizing the child's head while passing through the birth canal;
- impact of intrauterine infections;
- chronic ailments of mother;
- anhydrous period exceeding 12 hours;
- congenital pathologies of the brain.
Acquired causes are inherent in older children and adults. In this case, hydrocephalus may occur because of:
- trauma of cranial bones;
- hit foreign bodies in the brain;
- formation of cysts, tumors, hematomas in the brain;
- infectious diseases;
- disturbed metabolism;
- disturbances of brain functioning after a stroke.
To determine the real cause is important in order to start timely and correct therapy. To find out the full picture of an ailment can only the doctor, having familiarized with clinical displays.
Signs of hydrocephalic syndrome
The manifestation of pathology is associated with the age of the patient. Physicians allocate this syndrome in infants up to 1 year, in older children and in adults. Manifestations of hydrocephalic syndrome in a newborn child:
- groans and unusual sounds of the baby;
- refusal to eat;
- constant crying;
- plentiful regurgitation after feeding;
- decreased muscle tone;
- poor congenital reflexes;
- pathology of the visual discs, revealed by examination of the fundus;
- convulsions;
- trembling of hands;
- the bulge of the fontanelle;
- increase in the size of the head.
Older children observe:
- headaches, mainly in the temples, forehead, above the eyebrows;
- vomiting;
- strabismus;
- dizziness;
- difficulty in moving your head;
- pallor of the skin;
- drowsiness, lethargy, general weakness;
- irritability;
- memory impairment;
- increased muscle tone of the legs.
In adults hydrocephalus is accompanied by:
- severe pain in the head;
- nausea and vomiting;
- visual impairment;
- strabismus;
- convulsions;
- possible loss of consciousness and coma.
Therapeutic procedures are appointed by a neurologistafter determining the reasons. Therapy is prescribed taking into account the age of the patient. If there are signs of hydrocephalus, it is important to take timely measures to eliminate pathology, otherwise it can lead to severe brain damage. It is also useful to know:
