People quite often do not pay attention to a headache. In a sense, modern medicines contribute to this, allowing you to drown out the discomfort.
But everyone should understand that its appearance is a signal from the body, indicating that everything is not all right with you. Quite often in such patients, the main cause of discomfort is increased intracranial pressure. Symptoms in adults, treatment methods - read about all this in our review.
What is intracranial pressure?
Liquor is a cerebrospinal fluid, the excess of which can put pressure on the human brain. It is formed in clusters of small vessels called “sacs” of the human brain.
And it was the pressure of this fluid that came to be called intracranial. If the cerebrospinal fluid is small, then the pressure inevitably decreases, but if it is too much, then this is just the case when doctors diagnose increased intracranial pressure. Symptoms in adults are extremely unpleasant. Yes, and this is a dangerous disease.
A healthy person is characterized by a stable level of fluid in the body, without obvious predominance in one direction or another.
Increased intracranial pressure: symptoms in adults
In addition to the actual increased pressure, this problem has a number of related symptoms. How is increased intracranial pressure manifested ? Symptoms in adults are as follows:
- headache noticeably worse in the evening and at night;
- constant feeling of nausea, but there is no vomiting;
- the person feels weak and lethargic, he becomes irritable much faster;
- the pupil of the eye does not respond to light, and "flies" flash in the eyes of the patient himself;
- one of the sides of the body dramatically loses muscle strength, which strongly resembles paralysis.
Headache with intracranial pressure often becomes more pronounced with sneezing and coughing. The same should be expected from the slopes.
In such cases, if the pain area is uncertain, one can expect pain to intensify not in the evening, but in the morning.
Pressure exerts a significant effect on the optic nerve. The consequences of this may be temporary blindness, fog before the eyes and other manifestations that prevent a person from leading a full-fledged lifestyle.
Even mentally stable people experience discomfort during bouts of high blood pressure. They may experience nervous breakdowns, long periods of depression. A person becomes lethargic, leads a passive lifestyle and is quickly irritated.
Frequent back pain can also be one of the manifestations of the ailment.
How to be treated
If you have increased intracranial pressure, treatment should not be shelved. Urgently need to seek help from a specialist. The methods of therapy depend quite strongly on the causes of such a high pressure. Much also depends on the age of the patient who went to the doctor.
The main methods of treatment are taking medications that affect the blood vessels, as well as sedative and diuretic drugs.
In addition, manual therapy and gymnastics are prescribed.
The patient is given a specific diet, the essence of which is the use of foods rich in vitamins. Avoid taking large amounts of liquid and salt.
In especially severe cases, drainage and the introduction of shunts are indicated - this is necessary to reduce the amount of cerebrospinal fluid.
How to reduce intracranial pressure yourself
If the ailment found you at the wrong time, then you can always deal with it at home. You should not count on a complete cure, but to alleviate most of the symptoms is quite real. So, how to reduce intracranial pressure at home?
An important role in self-treatment is played by diuretics, such as tincture of hawthorn, rosehip, lavender, etc. They provoke a decrease in intracranial pressure.
It is worth noting that before taking herbal tinctures, it is imperative to consult with your doctor.
Still how to reduce intracranial pressure at home? The massage of two points on the back of the head is quite effective. To use it, you need to wrap your arms around your head so that your thumbs are exactly on the back of the head. After this, it is necessary to make circular movements for several minutes.
Intracranial pressure pills
Of course, in the treatment of intracranial pressure, drug therapy is also used. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that treatment with drugs must necessarily take place under the supervision of a doctor. Otherwise, one should expect negative and even fatal consequences.
A common practice in such cases is the administration of diuretics like Furosemide or Veroshpiron. If the condition negatively affected the patient’s optic nerve, then he will be prescribed corticosteroid tablets for intracranial pressure, such as Prednisolone or Dexamethasone.
Alternative treatment
Is alternative treatment for intracranial pressure possible? Alternative medicine is quite effective, but its main disadvantage is that it only weakens the symptoms that have manifested. In fact, it is almost impossible to cure intracranial pressure using folk remedies. They should be used in cases where there is no way to get an appointment with your doctor.
The main weapon against all ailments is herbal infusions and decoctions. Mostly used valerian, sage and St. John's wort.
Having selected medicinal herbs, they should be poured with boiling water. You must make sure that the herbs were taken no more than one tablespoon. You need to drink the infusion for one month, drinking three times a day for a quarter cup. After a course of herbs, you should take a break from them for a significant period of time.
There are other options. Alcohol tincture is a very popular remedy among the people. The basis is to take dry clover flowers, fill exactly half of the jar with them, and fill up with alcohol or vodka to the very top. After this, the tincture should be placed in a dark and cool place for two weeks.
When it is ready, it can be taken twice a day, one teaspoon, previously diluted with water.
And finally, tincture of garlic is good for headaches. To make it, you need to take three lemons and pass them through a meat grinder along with the skin. Three minced heads of garlic should be added to the resulting mixture.
After this, the drug must be allowed to settle, and only then can you start taking the medicine in small doses and several times a day.
Intracranial pressure. Which doctor should I go to?
What kind of doctor treats this unpleasant and potentially dangerous illness? First you have to go to the therapist to cut off all possible options. After that, they should give a referral to a neurologist, but he already knows what to do with the disease.
You should not expect that the doctor will be able to cure intracranial pressure instantly. To begin with, you will need to go through many examinations, including an MRI and an encephalogram. After making sure that you do not have other brain pathologies, the doctor will be able to proceed to standard treatment procedures.
The therapist needs to be examined, as he needs to cut off many other possible diseases. This is very important, because the sooner you can start the correct treatment, the easier it will be to defeat the ailment.
Medications for increased intracranial pressure
Some drugs fight the manifestations of intracranial pressure, while the rest are aimed at the root cause of the disease.
Medications for increased intracranial pressure in adults are primarily diuretics. Their main goal is to help the body get rid of excess fluid. The smaller it is, the faster the pressure will drop.
For example, the drug "Gritserol" effectively copes with this task.
In addition, drugs that expand the human vascular system are actively used. For example, one of the most widespread options is magnesia. It also has an antiarrhythmic effect.
Among some doctors, the practice of treating internal cranial pressure according to a certain scheme, which includes nootropics and pills, helps stabilize the blood circulation in the brain, is common.
The most common doctors' choices are Nootropil, Pyrocetam, and Phenotropil. Their main goal is to normalize the patient’s thinking process and at the same time help him cope with intellectual stress.
"Sermion" and "Cavinton" are already drugs that affect blood circulation. It is worth recalling once again that only a doctor is able to choose the right pill and determine the dosage. Self-medication in such a delicate field of medicine can lead to such consequences that no doctor can reverse.
When to see a doctor
Measuring ordinary pressure is not the slightest difficulty, but when it comes to intracranial pressure, here many fall into a stupor. And there is something.
The most effective way to find out if there is a problem is through puncture. The doctor takes a needle connected to a manometer and then inserts it into the spinal canal. All this requires careful preparation of the patient, which is available only in a hospital setting.
These are not all options. More expensive is an MRI. It costs decent money, but no less accurate, and there is no need to insert any needles or anything else that can scare the patient. And yet, most often, doctors manage with electroencephalography. With its help, it is possible to identify changes in the picture of brain activity, which is also evidence of an increased level of pressure in the brain.
If you once found in yourself an unreasonable headache and nausea, do not pull, consult a doctor. It may be possible to prevent the disease before it goes into more serious phases.
Causes of the disease
Intracranial pressure, the symptoms and treatment of which we examined, can be triggered by many factors, but most often this condition is observed in cases of congenital abnormalities and in a variety of inflammations, for example, with meningitis and encephalitis.
At risk are people who are overweight. Such a useful vitamin A is at the same time a substance that can significantly increase your pressure, but this is possible only with an excess of retinol in the body.
Intoxication is another reason for the occurrence of the disease. Exposure to toxic substances adversely affects the normal functioning of the brain. As a result, serious organic damage can be obtained.
Intracranial pressure in children
Children are no less than adults at risk of getting this unpleasant disease, which in the end can most negatively affect their level of development and further success in life. Apathy, drowsiness, excessive sensitivity, in some cases even strabismus. All this does not contribute to the learning process, prevents the child from showing activity and curiosity.
Consequences of intracranial pressure for a child
The child runs the risk of becoming depressed, he inevitably lags behind in school, does not want to walk with peers, avoids new acquaintances and even locks himself up in his room, since he does not want to participate in any of the classes.
Increased intracranial pressure (symptoms and treatment of the disease depend on the presence of concomitant diseases) can be found even in infants. Because of him, kids learn late to keep their heads, walk, and even talk. Therefore, a routine examination by specialists, including a neurologist, is not recommended to be skipped and ignored.
To prevent such a disaster from happening with your child, you should carefully listen to their complaints (we are, of course, talking about older children, not babies) and, if necessary, take them to the doctor in a timely manner.
Symptoms of intracranial pressure in children
In children, the disease manifests itself in its own way, but there are general symptoms. Anxiety and fatigue, severe headache, nausea and vomiting, squint - all this should be paid attention to during the growth of the child.
In completely crumbs, the shape of the head can be deformed and the volume of the head can increase, too much regurgitation is observed, and this does not depend even on meals. The child as a whole behaves more restlessly than all other children. And finally, a monotonous cry is another indication that a small organism suffers from increased intracranial pressure.