Allow the fetus to absorb cerebrospinal fluid

Hydrocephalus is a relatively common phenomenon in fetuses. If the fetus has a relatively small amount of cerebrospinal fluid, it will not affect the fetus and the pregnant woman, because the small amount of effusion will be gradually absorbed during the fetal development. However, if the fetus is found to have excessive cerebrospinal fluid, it will not only affect the normal growth and development of the fetus, but may even threaten the child's life safety. Pregnant women need to actively go to the hospital for treatment!

1. What should I do if the fetus has hydrocephalus?

Generally, during prenatal check-ups, some pregnant women will be told that their fetuses have hydrocephalus, but there is no need to worry too much. If the fetus has only a small amount of hydrocephalus, the fetus will slowly absorb some of the hydrocephalus as the body develops. The fetus can absorb a small amount of hydrocephalus by itself, but if you are told that the fetus has a large amount of hydrocephalus, you must seek medical attention in time, follow the doctor's arrangements and suggestions, and actively cooperate with the treatment. Never take chances and not go to the hospital for treatment, which will delay the best time for treatment, leaving regrets for yourself and causing unnecessary harm to your baby.

2. Symptoms of excessive hydrocephalus in infants

The most important sign of hydrocephalus in infants is the progressive increase in head circumference. At this time, because the cranial sutures have not closed, the fontanelles are enlarged, the tension is high, and the cranial sutures are split. Due to high intracranial pressure, venous return is obstructed and the scalp veins are dilated. When percussing the child's head, there is often a hollow feeling and a low sound, so it is called a broken pot sound (McEwen's sign). The eyeballs rotate downward and often fall below the lower eyelid, which is called the setting sun sign. The above are specific signs of hydrocephalus in infants. Other speech symptoms include poor head and neck control, increased tendon reflexes, spastic paralysis, strabismus (caused by cranial nerve VI palsy), visual impairment, nystagmus, ataxia and mental retardation. When adults suffer from hydrocephalus, the cranial sutures have closed, so they show increased intracranial pressure and symptoms explaining the primary disease.

3. Differential Diagnosis

1. Subdural hematoma or effusion in infants: mostly caused by birth trauma or other bleeding factors, can be unilateral or bilateral, and is more common in the frontal area. Chronic cases can also cause the head to enlarge and the skull to thin. Puncture of the anterior fontanelle can be used for identification, and bloody or yellowish fluid can be drawn from the subdural space.

2. Rickets: Due to the irregular thickening of the skull, the frontal bone and occipital bone protrude, forming a square skull, which looks like an enlarged head. However, this disease has no symptoms of increased intracranial pressure, but has other manifestations of rickets, so it is different from hydrocephalus.

3. Brain hypoplasia: Although the ventricles are enlarged, there is no abnormal increase in head circumference. The prominent manifestation is dementia without symptoms of increased intracranial pressure.

4. Hydrocephalus: CT scan can be used for identification. In hydrocephalus, the cerebral cortex is absent except in the occipital region, and prominent basal ganglia are visible on CT scans.

5. Megacephaly: It is an abnormal increase in the weight and volume of the brain itself caused by various reasons. Some primary megalencephaly may run in families, with or without cellular abnormalities. Although the patient has a large head, there is no symptom of increased intracranial pressure, and CT scans show that the ventricles are of normal size.