Increased Intracranial Pressure...
Increased Intracranial Pressure (ICP) Headache
A brain injury or another medical condition can cause growing pressure inside your skull. This dangerous condition is called increased intracranial pressure (ICP) and can lead to an ICP headache. The pressure also can injure your brain or spinal cord.
This kind of headache is an emergency and requires immediate medical attention. The sooner you get help, the more likely you are to recover.
Facts about ICP headache
Causes of this type of headache include:
Too much cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid around your brain)
A tumor causing pressure on some part of your brain
Bleeding into the brain
Swelling in the brain
These medical conditions can cause ICP:
Aneurysm
Blood pooling in some part of the brain
Brain injury
Brain tumor
Encephalitis
Hydrocephalus
High blood pressure
Meningitis
Stroke
Symptoms
These symptoms may go along with an ICP headache:
Blurred vision
Feeling less alert than usual
Vomiting
Changes in your behavior
Weakness or problems with moving or talking
Lack of energy or sleepiness
When to call a doctor
Call your doctor or 911 if you have any of the symptoms listed above. Do not wait.
Diagnosis
Your doctor will typically take a medical history and do a physical exam. You may also undergo imaging tests, which show what is going on inside the brain, or a spinal tap, which measures the pressure of cerebrospinal fluid.
Treatment
Intracranial pressure is an emergency. Treatment might include:
Medication to reduce swelling
Draining extra cerebrospinal fluid or bleeding around the brain
Removing part of the skull to ease swelling (though this is rare)
You may also be treated for the underlying cause of your intracranial pressure, which could be an infection, a tumor, or a stroke.
Complications
ICP has serious complications, such as:
Seizures
Stroke
Neurological damage
Death
Prevention
You cannot prevent an intracranial pressure headache, but if you experience any of the symptoms, you need to get medical attention immediately.
