Hydrocephalus cannot and does not go away on it's own as hydrocephalus is a chronic medical condition that involves the buildup of fluid in your brain that often requires medical treatment or surgery to manage the pressure and prevent brain damage that can be permanent.
Although in rare cases where the hydrocephalus is caused by a temporary, but treatable underlying issue, like the removal of a brain tumor that blocks the fluid flow, the hydrocephalus condition can resolve and go away once the main cause is fixed.
The reasons why hydrocephalus does not resolve or go away without treatment include chronic pressure, the worsening of symptoms and there's no natural cure for hydrocephalus.
The brain can't clear out the blocked fluid pathway independently in most chronic cases of hydrocephalus and without intervention, the conditions such as normal pressure hydrocephalus or congenital blockages worsen progressively and the excess cerebrospinal fluid places ongoing physical stress on your brain tissues.
The common medical treatments for hydrocephalus include shunt systems and endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV).
Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV), is a procedure that creates a new internal pathway for fluid to escape.
And shunt systems for hydrocephalus are a flexible tube that is surgically placed to drain the extra fluid to another part of your body.
If hydrocephalus is left untreated, the continuous pressure from the excess cerebrospinal fluid progressively damages the delicate brain tissue, which leads to severe permanent physical and cognitive disabilities or death.
The long term effects and complications of leaving hydrocephalus untreated include:
Brain damage, as the high press in hydrocephalus destroys the brain cells and brain pathways.
Physical disability, which includes loss of balance, severe coordination issues and an inability to walk.
Cognitive decline, like permanent memory loss, severe intellectual disability and dementia like symptoms.
Infant head enlargement, like unfused skull bones that expand rapidly, which causes severe structural disfigurement and if left untreated, hydrocephalus an even be life threatening and can lead to death.
The speed at which hydrocephalus progresses depends on the type of hydrocephalus as well as underlying cause of the hydrocephalus.
The progression of hydrocephalus can range from acute emergencies developing within hours to chronic forms of hydrocephalus getting worse over months or even years.
In acute hydrocephalus it often progresses in hours to days and is caused by a sudden blockage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or severe head bleeding.
The symptoms of acute hydrocephalus include sudden vomiting, intense headaches, rapid confusion and loss of consciousness and it's a critical medical emergency that requires immediate treatment.
In normal pressure hydrocephalus, the progression time is often months to several years and is common in older adults as fluid builds up slowly while pressure remains relatively normal.
The symptoms of normal pressure hydrocephalus include slow decline in walking, (gait), mild memory loss, and bladder control problems and it's progressive and irreversible without any surgical intervention, although it's highly treatable if caught early.
In congenital or chronic pediatric hydrocephalus, the time for progression is often weeks to months and is present at birth or develops slowly during childhood and the symptoms of congenital or chronic pediatric hydrocephalus include rapid head size increase in infants, developmental delays, irritability or sluggishness.
If unmanaged the congenital or chronic pediatric hydrocephalus leads to steady worsening that damages the brain tissues.
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.