Causes and clinical manifestations of external hydrocephalus

The baby's physical health is an issue that parents are most concerned about. Since babies have weak immunity and disease resistance, they are prone to various diseases. Therefore, parents must take good care of their babies in daily life. External hydrocephalus is a disease that is very harmful to babies. It is necessary for us to understand the causes and clinical manifestations of external hydrocephalus.

Any factor that causes damage to the central nervous system during the perinatal period may lead to external hydrocephalus. The main reasons are: asphyxia, hypoxia, neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, subarachnoid hemorrhage, frontal atrophy, kernicterus, premature birth, etc. during delivery. The above conditions may lead to external hydrocephalus, but the cause cannot be found in some children.

External hydrocephalus can usually be detected before six months of age, but a head CT or head ultrasound before two months of age may not necessarily show signs of external hydrocephalus. Be alert if you find any of the following:

1. Crying frequently, easily excited, irritated, easily screaming and startled.

2. Restless sleep, easy waking, difficulty falling asleep, short continuous sleep time, and total sleep time per day <15 hours.

3. Difficulty in feeding, poor sucking, and easy spitting up.

Although the above symptoms are not necessarily external hydrocephalus, they may also affect the baby's future mental and psychological development.

If the following conditions are found during development, you should also be alert:

1. The head circumference is larger than that of normal babies of the same age or the head circumference increases rapidly, the anterior fontanelle is large or closes late.

2. Poor reaction, slowness, poor movement of hands and feet, and no reaction to sound or color.

3. The body is stiff and straight or weak.

In the above article, we introduced the reasons why babies are prone to diseases. Parents should take good care of their babies in daily life. The above article introduced in detail the causes and clinical manifestations of external hydrocephalus.