There are some famous people with hydrocephalus which includes George Visger, Dick Wagner, danny Bonaduce and Billy Joel.
George Visger, the former NFL player and San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman developed hydrocephalus after severe repeated concussions and traumatic brain injuries that he received during his career in football.
Dick Wagner, the late rock guitarist who with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed was also a vocal advocate for the Hydrocephalus Association and shared his own long journey with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus or NPH to help raise public awareness.
Danny Bonaduce, the actor and radio personality (The Partridge Family) also opened up about his diagnosis with hydrocephalus after he experienced severe balance and mobility issues, which lead to trouble walking.
And Billy Joel, the legendary singer and songwriter also announced a diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), which led to him canceling scheduled concert performances to focus on treatment as well as physical therapy.
There have been several people that have survived hydrocephalus with prompt treatment as many people survive hydrocephalus and live long and fulfilling lives with hydrocephalus as long as they get an early enough diagnosis and prompt and proper medical treatment for it, such as having brain surgery to place a shunt or perform an endoscopic third ventriculostomy and long term survival rates of hydrocephalus are high and thousands of people thrive through adulthood with hydrocephalus.
The oldest person to live with hydrocephalus is Theresa Alvina Schaan, of Canada who was born on March 17th, of 1941 and she has lived with congenital hydrocephalus for over 85 years and manages the congenital hydrocephalus with a medical shunt.
The three signs of hydrocephalus are severe headaches, nausea or vomiting and vision problems like blurred vision or double vision.
And in infants the signs of hydrocephalus also include an unusually large head, a fast increase in their head size, a bulging soft spot on that look downward which are also known as "sunsetting" eyes.
Signs of hydrocephalus in children and adults include having bad headaches, throwing up or feeling sick, blurred or double vision and sleepiness or low energy.
The signs of hydrocephalus in older adults are trouble walking or unsteadiness, loss of bladder control and memory loss or thinking problems.
The red flags of hydrocephalus are repeated vomiting, severe or worsening headaches, sudden balance or walking problems, blurred or double vision and even extreme sleepiness or confusion.
Critical warning signs of hydrocephalus in infants is a rapidly growing head, bulging soft spot and even a downward gaze as well as extreme sleepiness, lethargy and even poor feeding.
Red flags of hydrocephalus in older children and adults include severe, persistent headaches, especially getting worse in the morning, frequent nausea or even forceful vomiting, vision changes like double vision or blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, or trouble walking and sudden confusion, personality changes, or even a drop in school or work performance.
Red flags in older adults for normal pressure hydrocephalus include trouble walking, which is described as a shuffling or "stuck" gait, loss of bladder control or sudden urinary urgency and progressive memory loss and declining cognitive function.
The first symptom of hydrocephalus in infants is a rapidly growing or unusually large head, bulging soft spot and even extreme sleepiness and poor feeding.
In older children and adults, the early signs and symptoms of hydrocephalus are nausea, morning headaches, blurred vision and balance issues.
An infant with hydrocephalus will experience rapid head growth or a head size that is too large and have a tense or bulging soft spot (fontanelle) on top of their head.
The infants eyes will also often be fixed downward, which is called "sunsetting" eyes and experience high pitched crying as well as sluggishness, extreme sleepiness or irritability and have trouble sucking or feeding.
Children and teens with hydrocephalus will also often have frequent headaches, especially in the morning, nausea and vomiting, blurred or double vision, loss of balance or poor coordination and sudden drop in school performance.
And the signs of hydrocephalus in adults and older adults include ongoing morning headaches, trouble walking or having a shuffling gait, which is common in normal pressure hydrocephalus, loss of bladder control or frequent urination and even memory loss, confusion or slowed thinking.
The 3 W's of hydrocephalus are wet, wobbly, and wacky and are also known as Hakim's triad.
The wet, wobbly, and wacky which are the 3 W's of hydrocephalus describe the classic symptom group of bladder incontinence, walking trouble and memory or thinking changes that can occur in people with hydrocephalus.
The wet in hydrocephalus describes urinary incontinence or a strong sudden need to use the restroom.
The wobbly, in hydrocephalus describes the trouble walking, balance issues or even a slow, wide based "magnetic" step.
And the wacky, in hydrocephalus describes memory loss, confusion, or even slow thinking, which can look like dementia.
Certain types of hydrocephalus can also make you pee a lot and can cause urinary frequency, urgency and even loss of bladder control.
The urinary symptoms of hydrocephalus is a core sign of NPH or normal pressure hydrocephalus, which is a form of fluid buildup in your brain, which mostly affects older adults and can also appear in children.
The signs of NPH and hydrocephalus are bladder changes like needing to pee a lot, sudden strong urges to pee or even bladder leaks.
Walking trouble, like shuffling steps, poor balance or even a hard time walking and even mild memory loss, confusion, or trouble focusing.
Some people with hydrocephalus do also sleep a lot, although the sleep patterns in people with hydrocephalus also vary widely depending on the person's age as well as the type of hydrocephalus.
People with hydrocephalus can and sometimes do experience excessive daytime sleepiness or unusual lethargy, and other people with hydrocephalus experience insomnia or trouble sleeping.
Adults that have normal pressure hydrocephalus often report high levels of daytime sleepiness, which can also sometimes improve after shunt surgery.
And babies with hydrocephalus may also sleep a lot during their first year of life as their brains rest and heal.
And sudden or extreme sleepiness, lethargy, or difficulty waking up can also be a sign of increased intracranial pressure or a malfunctioning shunt, which also requires immediate medical attention.
Many people with hydrocephalus also experience, struggling with insomnia, frequent night waking or even restless sleep due to chronic headaches, pain or anxiety.
Hydrocephalus does sometimes make you tired as excess fluid and pressure inside your brain with hydrocephalus often causes severe fatigue, sluggishness or even extreme sleepiness, which can also be a warning sign that a medical shunt is either failing or is blocked.
Common signs of fatigue and pressure with hydrocephalus include feeling unusually exhausted or weak during the day, having trouble waking up from sleep or staying awake, having low energy levels and a general slowing of movement and even brain fog or trouble focusing.
Feeling some tiredness with hydrocephalus is normal although experiencing any extreme sleepiness or difficulty walking up with hydrocephalus can mean that dangerous pressure is building up in the brain, so you should get emergency medical attention right away if the tiredness also comes along with bad headaches, throwing up or feeling sick to your stomach, vision changes like blurry vision or double vision or any fever or redness around the shunt site.
The gait of hydrocephalus is an apraxic gait or magnetic gait where the feet of the person with hydrocephalus appear glued or even stuck to the floor.
The gait with hydrocephalus is often slow, unsteady and wide based with short, shuffling steps.
The key characteristics of the gait of hydrocephalus include:
Magnetic foot placement, where the feet seem stuck or even have a hard time clearing the ground.
Short and shuffling, in which stride length is reduced significantly.
Slow speed, where walking velocity drops notably.
And impaired balance, where the person has a broad based stance with frequent unsteadiness and a high risk of falls.
And trouble starting or turning, where the person with hydrocephalus has difficulty initiating the first step or making turns.
Having a gait disturbance is also often the first and most prominent sign of hydrocephalus or NPH and it often also appears alongside of the classic clinical triad, which includes.
Urinary incontinence and cognitive impairment such as mild memory loss or executive dysfunction.
The three common signs of hydrocephalus include severe headaches, nausea or vomiting, and vision problems such as blurred or double vision.
In older adults with normal pressure hydrocephalus, the classic signs are difficulty walking, memory or thinking changes, and loss of bladder control.
Signs of hydrocephalus in Infants include:
Rapid increase in head size.
Bulging or tense soft spot on the head.
Eyes fixed downward. (sunsetting eyes)
Extreme sleepiness or irritability.
Signs of hydrocephalus in Older Children and Adults include:
Frequent headaches.
Nausea and throwing up.
Trouble with balance and walking.
Memory loss or confusion.
Someone with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) walks with a slow, unsteady, and wide-based gait often called a "magnetic gait".
Their feet appear stuck or glued to the floor, forcing them to take short, shuffling steps with a high risk of falling.
Characteristics of an NPH Gait in hydrocephalus include:
Magnetic feet: Feet seem heavy and attached to the ground, making it hard to lift them up.
Shuffling steps: Steps are very short, low to the ground, and lack normal bounce or fluid motion.
Wide stance: Feet are placed farther apart than normal to help keep balance.
Turning trouble: Difficulty making sharp turns or freezing in place when trying to move forward.
Imbalance: General unsteadiness that mimics being drunk or severely off-balance, often leading to frequent falls.