Definition

It yields 500 milliliter cerebrospinal fluid and it is absorbed after circulation. When cerebrospinal fluid is congested and absorbed abnormally, such accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid is deemed hydrocephalus.

Symptom

• Patients often suffer from vomiting and minimally consciously state.
• Usually children have bigger head circumference.
• Patients are out-eyelid.
• Young patients are incapable of looking up because of the down-warded eyelid.
• Patients also suffer from headache or dementia.
• Patients are unable to walk firmly and stably.
• Incontinence.

After-Surgery Care

• Avoid pressing the wound.
• Encourage patients to take a deep breath and cough.
• Enhance chest care, phlegm patting, and sucking to prevent fever and pneumonia.
• Turn the body over every one or two hours.
• To assess possibility of intracranial hemorrhage, keep an eye on patients’ consciousness to see if they are in coma or start talking nonsense.
• Encourage patients to move about after 24 hours of resting in bed.
• Reduce visiting hours to prevent excitement and stimulation.
• Avoid restraining patients to prevent possible emotional excitement.
• Prevent constipation because it triggers intracranial hypertension.
• To prevent upset abdomen, have patients intake small portion each meal and increase the frequency of their meal intake.
• Have patients drink 1000~1500C.C. of water to lower the chances of intracranial hypotension.

Caution

• Regularly return to the hospital for the follow-up.
• Maintain dryness and cleanness of your wound.
• Return to the hospital immediately if your wound gets red, swollen, heated, and painful.

Note: Return to the hospital immediately if you feel nauseated, vomiting, feverish with severe headache and twitch, and breathing abnormally.