What are the symptoms of brain tumors in children?

The occurrence of brain tumors is affected by many factors, and children are also a group with a high incidence of brain tumors. If a child has a brain tumor, the physical manifestations and symptoms will be obviously abnormal, such as vomiting, enlarged head, decreased vision, etc. If a child is feeling unwell, parents should take them for prompt examination and diagnosis.

1. Decreased vision or diplopia: Half of children with tumors will experience decreased vision. However, this common symptom is often ignored. Many children are not noticed by their parents until their vision in both eyes is severely reduced or even close to blindness. If your child is nearsighted and his vision continues to deteriorate after wearing glasses, you must be vigilant.

In addition, nearly 1/4 of children with intracranial tumors have diplopia, mainly manifested as binocular esotropia. It is the result of incomplete paralysis of the abducens or oculomotor nerve due to high intracranial pressure.

2. Vomiting: Vomiting is the most common symptom of intracranial brain tumors in children, with an incidence rate of 73% to 94%, often accompanied by dizziness, headache, nausea and neck stiffness. Deng Yuefei said that vomiting is mostly projectile and has nothing to do with eating.

Initially, vomiting occurs in the early morning, but as the disease progresses, it can occur at any time, with intermittent and recurrent attacks. Children can eat immediately after vomiting, but vomit again soon after eating. Long-term and repeated attacks may lead to dehydration and malnutrition, which can easily be misdiagnosed as gastrointestinal diseases.

3. Headache: Headache is caused by increased intracranial pressure due to the tumor. This pain is often diffuse and has no fixed location. As the disease progresses, it gradually worsens. In severe cases, it is accompanied by vomiting and sweating on the head. The headache often subsides or disappears after the eyes become blind. He reminded that young infants and young children will not express headaches and only cry, become restless or hit their heads, which should be taken seriously.

4. Enlarged head: It mostly occurs in infants and young children, with an incidence rate of nearly 50%. It is the result of cranial suture separation caused by patent or incomplete closure of cranial sutures and increased intracranial pressure. Children with patent anterior fontanelle may have an enlarged or bulging anterior fontanelle and dilated scalp veins.