Intracranial Hemorrhage: Diagnosis, Preparation, and Treatment

If you or your loved ones are experiencing headaches, nausea, frequent vomiting, weakness, and numbness in the body, you may have an intracranial haemorrhage. This condition is the cause of 15-30% of strokes. Intracranial haemorrhage can be life-threatening and should be immediately treated by an experienced doctor. Understanding the symptoms and causes of the condition can help you quickly identify it.

What is Intracranial Haemorrhage?

Intracranial haemorrhage, or "brain bleeds" is the internal bleeding between the brain tissue and the skull. It can also occur within the brain tissue. The pathological accumulation of blood inside the cranial vault occurs within the brain parenchyma or the nearby meningeal gaps in intracranial haemorrhage.

Symptoms of Intracranial Haemorrhage

Following are some visible signs and symptoms of intracranial haemorrhage:

1. Seizures
2. Unconsciousness
3. Stammering
4. Uneven pupil size
5. Vomiting
6. Trouble swallowing food
7. Vision difficulties in one or both eyes

Diagnosis of Intracranial Haemorrhage

Following are some of the tests used to diagnose intracranial haemorrhage-

1. Blood Tests- Complete analysis of blood count, electrolytes, creatinine, glucose, and coagulation.
2. CT Scan- To detect the anatomic location of bleeding inside the brain.
3. MRI- To determine subordinate causes such as neoplastic lesions or hemorrhagic transformation of an ischemic stroke.

Causes of Intracranial Haemorrhage

1. Hypertension: High blood pressure can make the blood vessels fragile, resulting in leaking or rupturing.
2. Head trauma: Physical injury or head trauma caused by any type of accident can fatally damage the blood vessels.
3. Medical causes: Abnormal medical conditions, such as aneurysms, can result in ruptures that leak blood within the skull.

Treatment for Intracranial Haemorrhage

The treatment of Intracranial haemorrhage can be approached surgically as well as non-surgically. 

• Non-Surgical Treatments
  1. Controlling and managing blood pressure to minimise the danger of more bleeding.
  2. Measuring and regulating the pressure because of clotting on brain tissue.

• Surgical Treatments
  1. Craniotomy- This procedure involves extracting a clot by removing a piece of the skull bone and exposing the brain.
  2. Stereotactic clot aspiration- Neuronavigation technology is applied to detect and eradicate a clot located deep inside the brain.

Procedure for Intracranial Haemorrhage Excision

The neurosurgeon or neurologist conducts an excision by removing a portion of the skull. They will then drain the hematoma to relieve the pressure on the brain. They will also repair ruptured blood vessels. 

You may notice some soreness in your surgical wounds after five days of the surgery. Your scalp might also start swelling. You may also experience some numbness as well as pain. The recovery time is anticipated to be anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks.

Conclusion

Although it affects only 0.025% of people all around the globe, intracranial haemorrhage is a chronic condition. You must not ignore it if you experience the above symptoms. The sooner it is diagnosed and treated, the better the chances of survival. Time, effort, determination, and rehabilitation are the deciding factors that can ensure a successful recovery.

Request an appointment at Apollo Cradle, Bengaluru - Jayanagar. Call 1860-500-4424 to book an appointment.