Increased intracranial pressure - Increased pressure inside the skull, which can cause trauma to the head. In itself, increased intracranial pressure is dangerous to humans because it may cause brain damage.

Cause increased intracranial pressure may be a variety of factors - increased pressure of cerebrospinal fluid, tumor in the brain, bleeding in the brain, or accumulation of fluid around the body of the brain. Whatever factors may be due to increased intracranial pressure, such a state - a serious medical problem: increased intracranial pressure may damage the brain or spinal cord, limiting blood flow to the brain and causing high blood pressure How to deal with high blood pressure?   to important parts of the brain.

Many diseases can cause increased intracranial pressure. Among the most common:

• Aneurysm rupture and subarachnoid hemorrhage
• Brain tumor
• Encephalitis
• Head injury
• Hydrocephalus (brain edema) - excessive increase in the amount of cerebrospinal fluid within the skull
• Hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage
• Bleeding in the brain ventricles
• Meningitis
• Stroke
• Subdural hematoma

In children and adults, increased intracranial pressure is accompanied by various symptoms. For infants and young children with increased intracranial pressure are characteristic symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, bulging fontanelle. In older children and adults, increased intracranial pressure is accompanied by changes in behavior, headache Headache: Causes and Complications , Nausea Nausea - there may be problems with the nervous system , Seizures, and a number of neurological symptoms - weakness, numbness, vision problems.

Diagnosis and treatment

Although the diagnosis of increased intracranial pressure may be circumstantial evidence - such as constant headache, seizures, neurological disorders - often detect increased intracranial pressure occurs in the acute cases requiring immediate medical attention. To confirm the diagnosis used computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of the skull.

Intracranial pressure may be measured during a lumbar puncture or directly - by drilling procedure skull and install a special catheter into the ventricle of the brain.

The sudden and sharp rise in intracranial pressure requires urgent medical attention or hospitalization. In such cases, continuous monitoring of the patient - monitoring of neurological and vital signs, including temperature, pulse, blood pressure Blood pressure - dangerous if his swing? , Respiratory rate. The main methods of treatment of increased intracranial pressure - cerebrospinal fluid pumping to reduce the pressure in the skull, special medications to reduce the size of the tumor and, in very rare cases, surgical removal of part of the skull. If increased intracranial pressure caused by hemorrhage, tumor, any diseases such as dropsy of the brain, reducing intracranial pressure requires treatment of the disease.

Possible complications

The sudden and sharp rise in intracranial pressure - very dangerous for human health condition, in some cases leading to death. If the cause of increased intracranial pressure can be treated (eg, hydrocephalus), the chances of a successful outcome, in general, much higher. If increased intracranial pressure leads to pressure on the important parts of the brain and blood vessels, this condition can lead to very serious, permanent health problems or even death.

Among the possible complications of increased intracranial pressure:

• Death
• Permanent neurological damage
• Neurological disorders with the possibility of recovery (treatment)
• Convulsions
• Stroke

To prevent increased intracranial pressure alone can not, however, reduce the risk to health is still possible - when it detects the first signs of increased intracranial pressure, whether seizures, neurological problems, impaired vision, as soon as possible to see a doctor for a correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

How hard are the consequences of ischemic stroke it depends on many factors. But first of all it has a value of the degree of brain damage and timely appointment of adequate treatment. At the appointed time the treatment may complete restoration of brain functions.

What might be the consequences of ischemic stroke

The consequences of ischemic stroke may be different. If a small vessel was struck and timely provision of correct treatment, in most cases, an ischemic stroke occurs favorably. The consequences of such a trend - the gradual complete or substantially remedy brain functions.

It may also develop a prolonged duration of stroke, which is characterized by periodic worsening and improvement of the patient. Thus while there may be worsening of recurrent stroke, joining a variety of complications, such as pneumonia Pneumonia - Symptoms and Causes   and others. With proper and timely begun treatment of the stroke outcome it may also be beneficial.

But it may also happen that, despite treatment, symptoms increase. In this case there are significant effects of stroke Stroke - consequences: recovery and treatment   or even the death of the patient.

The majority of patients with ischemic stroke Stroke - a serious brain injury   the most severe condition occurs in the first days, and then start to improve the general condition, during which the local (local) symptoms in the form of sensory and motor disturbances are stabilized, and in some patients even decrease. At the same time the pace of recovery of disturbed functions can be different: both fast and slow.

Recovery of the brain can begin on the first day of the disease, or a few days. In elderly patients, this process begins later, a few weeks after the onset of stroke. In repeated ischemic stroke often develop serious long-term movement disorders, sensitivity and the psyche.

How does

Consequences are manifested ischemic stroke depending on which lesions were at the height of the patient during the disease .  Very often it is different motor defeat .  Movement disorders usually occur on the opposite side of brain lesions .  Violation of movement on one side of the body is called hemiparesis (partial immobilization of one side of the body) or hemiplegia (complete lack of movement in this area) .  Hemiparesis restored easier hemiplegia treatable with difficulty .  Sometimes movement disorders manifest a weakness, unsteady gait, trembling of the limbs, loss of coordination .  If it affects the brain stem may be consequences such as swallowing disorders .  In this patient continuously poperhivaetsya, whereby the food can be inhaled, causing inflammation in the lungs and bronchi .

Not less often appear and speech disorders: it can be slow, chanting. It may be broken and the perception of speech, as well as the process of reading and writing. After severe ischemic stroke may stay a long time violations such as fecal incontinence and urine.

There are sensitive disorders (a feeling of numbness or pins and needles in some regions), disorders of vision, hearing, smell, taste.

Mental changes after a stroke can manifest as disorders of perception, where the patient is unable to take ordinary objects of everyday life and does not understand how to use them. There may be impaired memory, the ability to remember and learn. Some patients develop convulsions. The behavior of such patients may be aggressive or, on the contrary, a whiny mood swings, when the laughter gives way to tears. There is a tendency to depression, when the background is constantly depressed mood violated all body functions.

After heavy strokes gradually developing dementia (dementia) due to the fact that the destroyed tissue cells of the brain being replaced by connective tissue cells. Against this background may develop transient mental disorders, and prolonged psychosis with hallucinations and delusions Brad - not only crazy . Rarely there are sharp attacks of pain in a certain part of the body of mental origin, which can not be removed painkillers.

Effects of ischemic stroke may be manifested in the form of a variety of changes. It may be different, and the severity of these changes. In any case, the hollow restoring health required a lot of effort on the part of the doctor and by the patient himself.

Galina Romanenko