How to check intracranial pressure

Increased intracranial pressure is characterized by a strong pressing headaches that cannot be removed by any drugs; poor health with the change of weather; General weakness and tension. Children may have convulsions, hysteria. If the headaches bother you very often, antispasmodic and pain relievers do not help, you need to consult a neurologist and get a referral for medical examinations.

You will need

• - refer to a neurologist;
• - get directions to the required examinations.

Instruction

1. Intracranial pressure can be measured in several ways, but the most reliable result is obtained by carrying out the puncture. The doctor inserts the spinal canal or ventricles of the brain and connects the needle gauge. The pressure is measured in millimeters of water column. If the patient is in a horizontal position, and the only way they are punctured, the normal results are considered the indicators from 60 to 200. But some experts are of the opinion that good results should be considered indicators from 80 to 140. The pressure level depends on the General physical condition of the person and the availability of current chronic diseases. The puncture is performed in a hospital, after admission and patient preparation for the examination.
2. All other research methods cannot give reliable results at 100% and allow you to define a pressure approximately by circumstantial evidence, but, nevertheless, are used most frequently, rather than puncture.
3. The neurosonography – ultrasound is carried out only in the examination of children, as in adults, ultrasound can not give any results due to the density of the bones of the skull. In babies, the fontanel is not yet closed, that allows to get indirect results. Neurosonography helps to determine the size of the ventricles and to judge of the increased intracranial pressure by the fact that the ventricles are enlarged.
4. If the fontanel is closed, is computer or magnetic-resonant tomography. The same survey is assigned and adult patients. But the imaging is costly and unsafe method of examination, so it is performed only in the case if there are reasonable grounds to suspect increased intracranial pressure.
5. You can also get directions to the hardware echoencephalography. When the survey is possible to obtain indirect signs of increased intracranial pressure. This is determined by the pulsation of the vessels, but the result is the only reason for suspicion, but does not give guaranteed results.
6. From the foregoing it can be concluded that despite the fact that medicine is moving forward, but reliable method of obtaining results, the level of intracranial pressure is the only puncture.