Why the hydrocephalus occurs in children?

What is hydrocephaliya? Causes of the appearance of pathology and symptoms of the disease. Treatment with conservative and operational methods

Birth of a child – joy for the whole family. The first cries of the newborn baby can be attributed to the greatest moments. They give to understand the parents that they fulfilled their mission.

The appearance of crumbs brings not only the joy of motherhood. From the very first hours of its existence, the child requires care, attention and care. Baby is a big responsibility that parents take. Monthly visits to the precinct pediatrician, regular weighing and diverse measurements will become part of everyday life.

It is necessary to carefully monitor the development of the baby, pay attention to the symptoms and signs of violations. This will allow to diagnose and competently approach the treatment of the disease, when this will be detected.

What does the diagnosis mean?

Today, one of the serious problems is an increased intracranial pressure, which may arise due to a large number of reasons, ranging from hypoxia during the generic process and ending with such pathologies as encephalitis and meningitis.

The most common sources of the disease include a violation of metabolic processes in a small body, as well as premature inading of spring. One of the most problematic pathologies that pediatricians diagnose is hydrocephalus in newborns.

Such a doctor’s decision is a big stress for parents. Why does this pathology scare so much?

I am expressed by a simple language, hydrocephalus is a brain molding – severe pathology, provoking the increase in the head in size. If the disease was found from an older child, then there is no such sign, because the bones have become stronger and the skull does not change their dimensions.

Causes of the appearance of hydrocephalus in newborns

If you rely on the results of medical statistics, two main provoking factor can be distinguished: generic injury, which is often accompanied by intracerebral / intraventricular hemorrhage; Tumors and brain development vices.

Pathology due to modern methods of diagnosis, for example, ultrasound, can be detected during pregnancy, that is, the fetus. Usually in such a situation, it arises due to the deviation in the development of the nervous system or after a pregnant woman suffered an intrauterine infection (toxoplasmosis, cytomegaly, herpes).

At the stage of the child planning stage, parents must pass tests for the presence of these infections, because they often proceed hidden, and then cure them. This will avoid complications in the future. In rare cases, hydrocephalus is developing due to a genetic disorder.

Signs of hydrocephalus in newborns attentive parents may notice independently in the early stages of the disease. In this situation, it is necessary to contact a specialist as soon as possible – a neurologist.

Only a qualified doctor will be able to confirm or disprove the diagnosis after the studies. Early diagnosis of this disease will increase the likelihood of successful treatment several times.

Signs of presence of pathology

Hydrocephalus, the symptoms of which in newborns are easy to detect, manifests as:

• Permanent drowsiness child or, on the contrary, increased excitability and activity;
• Frequent jumping, which may end with vomiting;
• Convulsions caused by the hypertonus muscles of the lower extremities;
• Reduced appetite. Usually infants abandon breasts or bottles;
• The rapid increase in the head circumference is the first symptom that allows you to suspect the brain water;
• Swimming veins on the head, increasing spring, due to a large number of spinal fluid (liquor in the brain departments).

The diagnosis cannot be put, based only on the testimony of parents and inspection by a neuropathologist by a neuropathologist. To confirm or disprove the presumptive diagnosis, a whole range of research is needed that the doctor appoints.

Treatment of hydrocephalius in newborns

As in most other cases, the treatment of brain water can be conservative or operational. The decision on the choice of the method is accepted after obtaining research results.

If surgery is chosen, it implies the creation of conditions for the outflow of unnecessary spinal fluid. A conservative way is to receive diuretics and special hormonal drugs. However, treatment should be comprehensive, including medication, massage and electrophoresis.

The most popular method of withdrawing the liquor, regardless of the cause of the disease, is the ventriculous peritoneal shunting. A few silicone catheters are introduced into the body, which will divert the liquid from the brain into the abdominal cavity, where it will be absorbed between the intestinal loop.

The level of the flowing liquor will adjust the special valve. Catheters are carried out under the skin, so they will not be visible outside. Over 200 thousand such operations annually spend over 200 thousand, which allows you to save many children’s lives.

Sometimes the liquor is discharged to the right atrium, a large occipital tank or in the abdominal cavity through the spinal channel.

Now it is possible to perform operations without shunting. With the help of endoscopic equipment create workarounds for the outflow of fluid in the depths of the brain. Unfortunately, this effective method is used only in the case of some forms of occlusal hydrocephalus.

Successfully completed operation is the key to the fact that the disease will stop its development, and the child will develop on a par with peers.

As for medication drugs, diakar is very often prescribed. It affects the production of spinal fluid, reducing it. In such a situation, children are not operated on and are under constant supervision of the doctor. This is only necessary in those situations where the disease does not progress and increasing intracranial pressure is not detected.

The consequences of hydrocephalius found in newborns

Depends on the disease depends on what the ailment may affect.

The most frequent complications are:

• Violation of speech;
• Visual disorders that can lead to blindness;
• Increased intracranial pressure is accompanied by permanent headaches;
• Delay mental and physical development of the child;
• Epileptic seizures.

If it is too late to seek medical assistance, then the fatal outcome is possible.

Observe a sick child should not only a pediatrician and a neuropathologist, but also neurosurgeon. It is worth noting that the disease is very often eliminated by the surgical path, and the surgeon determines the testimony and contraindications to the operation, takes into account possible consequences.

If the baby is not observed at the neurosurgeon, then maybe there will be an unreasonable delay in surgery, which is fraught with serious complications. Even if the neuropathologist does not give directions to another doctor, parents must visit him independently.

It is necessary to mention that long-term elevated intracranial pressure delays the psychomotor development of the baby, and the big head will not decrease even after the operation, it will simply stop growing. The child literally will be difficult to wear it on the shoulders.