Signs And Symptoms Of Cerebral Edema

Edema is another term for swelling. When your body receives some form of injury, a typical reaction for your body to have is to swell. However, it's possible for your brain to swell as well, which is something known as cerebral edema. This can occur due to an injury to the brain or illness, though it may also occur for unknown reasons. Because the brain is located in the thick skull, it doesn't have much space to swell, so if your brain starts to swell, the situation could become dangerous, and potentially even lethal. As such, if you believe you or someone you know, may be suffering from cerebral edema, contact a local hospital.

Headache

One of the first signs of cerebral edema is a headache. It may occur anywhere within your head and is due to the increasing pressure occurring inside your skull. As the swelling develops, the ache will likely become worse. A headache may also bring additional symptoms like light sensitivity or noise sensitivity, and in some cases, you may have difficulty sleeping, or you may feel fatigued. If the ache persists, even after taking pain relief medication, consider seeing your doctor. You will also want to ensure your headache isn't a migraine.

Typically, migraines also have additional symptoms of throbbing pain, nausea, blurred vision, paleness, dizziness, and other signs. Your headache may develop into a migraine if you have edema, however, so if you notice this form of pain along with the other following symptoms, call an ambulance or have someone take you to the hospital. Due to the severity of other symptoms, you should not drive yourself if it's possible to avoid it.

Seizures

Seizures can be caused by injury, or even by an infection the brain like meningitis. As such, it's a critical sign you or someone you know has cerebral edema. There are different types of seizures as well, so it's important to know which one you are suffering from. Tonic-clonic is the most common form of seizure in which your arms and legs become stiff and jerk. You may also stop breathing until the seizure is over. Absence seizures occur when you lose consciousness, though it is important to note these typically affect children more so than adults.

Febrile seizures occur in children, are usually due to an illness, typically only last for a few minutes, and are relatively harmless. Partial focus seizures occur in a single location of the brain but can spread to other parts of the brain. There are two different kinds of partial focus seizures. The first is when you remain conscious and aware of what is going on, and you may or may not be able to respond. In the second, you lose consciousness.