How to measure intracranial pressure (ICP)

We are used to responding to headaches and migraines calmly: ICP is naughty, everything will go away by itself. However, abroad to any estate in intracranial pressure are very carefully, because the consequences can be serious and can, in some cases, even lead a person to death. But if the ICD is so important, how do you know the intracranial pressure? This will be discussed in this article.

With this something just is not so simple, but first it makes sense to explain what is ICCH and where it comes from. The fact is that to protect against external mechanical damage, nature decided to put our brain in liquid - liquor. This liquor is constantly updated, but there are times when it is more than necessary. In such cases, he begins to put pressure on the brain, and ICP, respectively, increases.

The reasons for increasing intracranial pressure can be many. Sometimes the spent liquor is poorly excreted by the body, sometimes the vessels through which the liquid circulates are narrowed, sometimes large amounts 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 a change in ICP are a headache that sprays the skull from the inside, it can be either permanent, general, or localized. Sometimes it is accompanied by a feeling of pressure on the eyeballs, nausea, dizziness , etc. If you periodically feel these symptoms, then there is a sense of alertness.

Surprisingly, with all the progress in modern medicine, the measurement of intracranial pressure remains a matter of purely medical. On the standard question: how to measure intracranial pressure at home, while you can only answer one thing - in any way.

To learn ICP, you need special equipment, 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 more often called abbreviated - lumbar puncture. This method has its own sub-types, but they are important only for doctors, and the common patient will not say anything different. After the introduction of the needle, the cerebrospinal fluid begins to flow out from it, and the elementary manometer records the indices. The ICP measurement is carried out in the same way as in a conventional mercury thermometer. Indicators of normal pressure - a controversial item. First, the question of which ICD indicators are considered normal, spears still break. Secondly, the indices of intracranial pressure in the sitting and lying person will differ. For a lying patient, the relative values are from 80 to 140 mm of water. Or from 1 to 20 mm of mercury.

Thus, with the question of how to measure intracranial pressure, we seem to have figured it out. But it is not enough to measure ICP, you also need to know what to do with the unfavorable results of this measurement. Problems with ICP are remediable, it is treated. Do this with the help of special drugs - diuretics or nootropics. Sometimes simple sedative or vascular medications help.

Know your intracranial pressure - it is necessary and important, this is the main thing that you should learn. Play with intracranial pressure is not necessary, especially for mothers with young children. If your child has symptoms of high ICP, it is better to see a doctor right away, because other dangerous diseases develop in advanced cases, which then will be much harder to fight with.