Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus - "water on the brain," the "water" is actually cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). It is a condition in which the primary characteristic is excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain.

Sign and symptoms
-Symptoms of hydrocephalus vary with age, disease progression, and individual differences in tolerance to the condition. For example, an infant's ability to compensate for increased CSF pressure and enlargement of the ventricles differs from an adult's. The infant skull can expand to accommodate the buildup of CSF because the sutures (the fibrous joints that connect the bones of the skull) have not yet closed.

Symptoms in infants

* Poor feeding
* Irritability
* Reduced activity
* Vomiting

Symptoms in children

* Slowing of mental capacity
* Headaches (initially in the morning) that are more significant than in infants
because of skull rigidity
* Neck pain suggesting tonsillar herniation
* Vomiting, more significant in the morning
* Blurred vision: This is a consequence of papilledema(optic disc swelling that
is caused by increased intracranial pressure. ) and later of optic atrophy
* Double vision: This is related to unilateral or bilateral sixth nerve palsy
* Stunted growth and sexual maturation from third ventricle dilatation: This can lead to obesity and to precocious puberty or delayed onset of puberty.
* Difficulty in walking secondary to spasticity: This affects the lower
limbs preferentially because the periventricular pyramidal tract is stretched
by the hydrocephalus.
* Drowsiness