We are used to reacting to headaches and migraines calmly: ICP is naughty, everything goes by itself. However, abroad, any property in intracranial pressure is treated very carefully, because the consequences can be serious and can, in some cases, even lead to death. But if ICP is so important, then how do you know intracranial pressure? This will be discussed in this article.
With this, it’s not so simple, but at first it makes sense to explain what ICP is and where it comes from. The fact is that to protect against external mechanical damage, nature has decided to place our brain in a liquid - cerebrospinal fluid. This liquor is constantly updated, but there are times when it turns out to be more than necessary. In such cases, it begins to put pressure on the brain, and the ICP, respectively, rises.
There can be many reasons for the increase in intracranial pressure. Sometimes the spent cerebrospinal fluid is poorly excreted by the body, sometimes the vessels through which the fluid circulates narrow, sometimes large doses of water adversely affect the ICP. There are other reasons, for example, the use of certain drugs: thyroxine, contraceptives, hormonal drugs - all this can affect intracranial pressure.
Before asking how to measure intracranial pressure, it is reasonable to check whether symptoms of its increase are observed. The first signs of changes in ICP are a headache, bursting the skull from the inside, it can be either constant, general or localized. Sometimes she is accompanied by a feeling of pressure on the eyeballs, nausea, dizziness , etc. If you periodically feel these symptoms, then it makes sense to be wary.
Surprisingly, with all the progress in modern medicine, measuring intracranial pressure remains a purely medical matter. To the standard question: how to measure intracranial pressure at home, there is only one answer so far - no way.
To learn ICP, you need special equipment that is available only in the hospital. This is understandable, because how to measure intracranial pressure without access to cerebrospinal fluid? So far the only way works: by inserting a needle into the spinal canal or into the ventricle of the brain. The first procedure is often called abbreviated - lumbar puncture. This method has its subspecies, but they are important only for doctors, and their differences will not say anything to an ordinary patient. After the needle is inserted, cerebrospinal fluid begins to flow out of it, and an elementary manometer fixes the indicators. ICP measurement is the same as in a conventional mercury thermometer. Indicators of normal pressure are a controversial thing. Firstly, on the question of which ICP indicators are considered normal, spears are still breaking. Secondly, the indicators of intracranial pressure in a sitting and lying person will differ. For a lying patient, indicators from 80 to 140 mm water column are considered the relative norm. or from 1 to 20 mm Hg.
Thus, with the question of how to measure intracranial pressure, we seem to have figured out. But it is not enough to measure intracranial pressure, you also need to know what to do with the adverse results of this measurement. ICP problems are fixable, they treat him. They do this with the help of special drugs - diuretics or nootropics. Sometimes simple sedative or vascular drugs also help.
Knowing your intracranial pressure is necessary and important, this is the main thing that you should learn. Playing with intracranial pressure is not worth it, especially for mothers with young children. If your child has symptoms of high ICP, it is better to consult a doctor immediately, because in advanced cases other dangerous diseases develop, which will then be much more difficult to deal with.