Cerebral palsy is a rather serious disease that can hardly be cured. This term scares many parents, but not everyone knows what cerebral palsy is. This information will be useful to every person, regardless of whether he has ever encountered such a violation.
What is cerebral palsy?
Cerebral palsy is a serious disease that is associated with damage to brain tissue. As a rule, the tissues of the cerebral cortex, subcortical areas, and the brain stem are primarily damaged. This explains the speech impairment and motor disorders in the child, mental retardation , etc. But first of all, it should be noted that cerebral palsy is not a hereditary disease. A number of factors lead to the development of the disease.
Causes of Cerebral Palsy
Since we have already figured out what cerebral palsy is, now it is necessary to clarify the reason. Typically, the aforementioned brain damage appears during pregnancy, childbirth or in the first few days after birth.
A serious illness suffered by a woman during pregnancy can lead to pathologies of brain tissue. The risk of cerebral palsy increases with a Rhesus conflict (which is why such women should constantly be under the supervision of a doctor and follow all his instructions). Less commonly, severe late toxicosis becomes the cause.
Most often, brain damage appears already during childbirth. The reason for this may be prolonged contractions, a narrow pelvis (if the birth is natural), too fast birth. Sometimes cerebral palsy develops after using certain medications during contractions. Damage to the brain can also be caused by improper use of vacuum equipment or obstetric forceps.
A serious illness, for example, the so-called nuclear jaundice, can lead to brain damage in the early days of life.
Forms of cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is a generic name for diseases that are similar in their causes, symptoms and course. Doctors distinguish several main forms of cerebral palsy.
- The most common form is spastic diplegia, or Little's disease. With this disease, both parts of the body are affected, and the child can’t move his legs, but his hands are more mobile. There is deformation of the joints and spine.
- The dyskinetic form, as a rule, appears as a result of transferred nuclear jaundice in the first days of a child's life. It manifests itself as paresis and paralysis, but in addition, damage to the eye and auditory nerves is possible. But the intellect is not affected at the same time - mentally and mentally the child develops normally. In most cases, such children easily adapt among new people, easily graduate from school.
- The ataxic form is characterized by damage to the cerebellum. There is a low muscle tone and strong tendon reflexes. Speech disorders of various nature are very common. As for intellectual development, it comes with a moderate delay, although the development of oligophrenia is sometimes possible.
- The hemiplegic form is accompanied by a unilateral lesion of the body, and the leg is affected less than the arm. Such children are characterized by a delay in speech and mental development. Sometimes there is the development of epilepsy.
Mixed forms of cerebral palsy are much less common .
Treatment of cerebral palsy
In modern medicine, there is no medicine that could cure a sick child. But children with such a diagnosis need constant care, which greatly facilitates their life. For example, regular massage sessions and physiotherapy are recommended, which relieve contractures and cramps. A special set of therapeutic exercises is being developed for the child, with the help of which it is possible to weaken the limited movement. Of the medicines used drugs that improve the nutrition of nerve tissues. If children are lagging behind in mental development, then it is necessary to conduct regular classes with them.
Now you know what cerebral palsy is, how it arises and how it manifests. But in any case, it is necessary to make the child feel free in society.