Other symptoms of hydrocephalus
Vomiting as a symptom of hydrocephalus is often one of the first signs of it. It is particularly characteristic that it occurs especially during sobriety and then in a torrent. This symptom is observed in adults as well as in children and infants.
It is caused by an increased pressure in the skull, which affects the vomiting center. Depending on how strong the pressure increase inside the skull is and how fast the hydrocephalus builds up, the symptom is lethargy. If a rapid increase in pressure occurs, the affected persons are sleepy if there is only a slight accumulation of water.
If more pressure is applied by a more pronounced hydrocephalus, patients may fall into a permanent sleep from which they can only be awakened with difficulty, or even end up in a coma. If, on the other hand, a more slowly developing hydrocephalus occurs, the patients appear slowed, listless and aspontaneous. In addition, their behavior often changes noticeably and often appears very non-conformist.
You can find more interesting information about lethargy here: Sleep disorder – TirednessIn infants and adults with hydrocephalus, cramps can occur as a result of the increase in pressure inside the skull. Strictly speaking, they are not epilepsy, as they are caused by the increase in pressure and recede again after the pressure is relieved. However, at first glance they appear to be epilepsy.
Muscle cramps and tremors can be part of these seizures as a result of hydrocephalus and are therefore easily confused with epilepsy. An enlarged skull usually only occurs in babies with hydrocephalus. At this age, the bones of the skull are not yet fully grown together and can make room for the increasing brain volume simply by moving apart.
This, however, causes the child’s skull to expand, sometimes enormously. If no pressure-relieving therapy is used in this phase, a disproportion between the skull and the face of the person remains. In Germany, enlarged skulls of adults are no longer to be expected due to hydrocephalus in infancy. This is ensured by a nationwide, good supply of pediatricians and surgeons who can remove the increased cerebral fluid.
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