Big head in a child: a disease or a norm?

The large head with which the child is born is striking in its dimensions. A full-term baby has ¼ of the whole body, the premature baby has about the third part, and the adult has only the eighth part. Such a large head in a child is due to the predominant development of his brain.

Children can be born with different head shapes, whereas its size is generally accepted: in full-grown girls, the head circumference is on the average 34 cm, and in boys - almost 35. In healthy newborns, the brain skull is larger than the facial skull, since the bones are still uncombed. Gradually, they grow together and form seams, and uncompleted soft areas are called fontanelles.

But sometimes it happens that children are born with an abnormally enlarged head, which is often asymmetrical. At the same time, the frontal hillocks protrude considerably, and the eyeballs are enlarged and protruded. Such symptoms speak of a dangerous disease - hydrocephalus.

What is hydrocephalus?

This disease is caused by the accumulation of fluid in the child's brain. This disease in people is called a dropsy of the brain. As a rule, this disease is caused by an infectious disease that the mother suffered during pregnancy. Also, the disease can occur as a result of meningitis, intoxication or head trauma. The consequence of these troubles in a child due to illness can be a large head. The disease also leads to increased pressure inside the skull, to neurological disorders, the occurrence of seizures and decreased vision and intellectual abilities.

A large head, of course, is not an absolute indicator of hydrocephalus. For example, if one of the parents of a child has a large head too, this indicates normal heredity. The main symptom of hydrocephalus in a baby is a large head, that is, its accelerated growth. Therefore, if such changes are observed, it is necessary to conduct an urgent examination, according to which the diagnosis is confirmed or refuted.

Signs of hydrocephalus

The first signs of the disease - an increased fontanel, which does not close to three years of life of the child. The rate is a year. The bones become thinner, the forehead becomes disproportionate, huge, with a well-visible venous network. There is a symptom of Gref (the upper eyelid lags behind when the eyeball moves down). Due to the disease, the baby lags behind in psychomotor development, can not hold his head, does not get up and does not play. If, nevertheless, the diagnosis is confirmed, then the earlier the qualified treatment starts, the fewer consequences will be in the future. Usually, hydrocephalus is treated surgically, during which surgeons divert the cerebrospinal fluid from the ventricles of the brain to other body cavities.

Microcephaly

Another serious deviation in the development of the child is microcephaly. With this disease, the baby also has a big head. But its circumference is only 25 cm, without fontanels. The face of the skull is much more cerebral, as the anomaly lies in the reduction in the size of the brain. Like hydrocephalus, this disease can develop before the birth of a child, as a consequence of malnutrition in the womb.