Health Information : Brain Edema

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What is Brain Edema?

Brain Edema is a condition in which there is swelling in brain tissues. Your skull can’t stretch to accommodate the swelling, due to which pressure builds up in the brain and causes it to press against the skull. This pressure prevents the blood from flowing to your brain and as a result, it doesn’t get required oxygen needed to perform its function. The swelling in the brain can also block other fluids from leaving your brain. This makes the swelling even more worse and hence results in death of brain cells. Brain Swelling can lead to herniation and dysfunctioning of different parts of brain.

What causes Brain Edema?

Several factors are responsible for Brain Edema, namely:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Ischaemic stroke caused due to blood clots in/near brain
• Brain haemorrhages and stroke
• Infections like Meningitis, Encephalitis, Toxoplasmosis
• Subdural empyema
• Tumors
• High altitudes

What are the symptoms of Brain Edema?

The symptoms of Brain Edema usually come suddenly and depend on the severity of condition, namely:

• Headache
• Neck pain or neck stiffness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Dizziness
• Loss of memory or vision
• Irregular breathing
• Difficulty walking and speaking
• Seizures
• Loss of consciousness

How can Brain Edema be treated?

The goal of treatment for Brain Edema is to ensure that required blood and oxygen reaches brain so that it remains healthy while swelling is relieved and any underlying causes are treated. For this, your doctor may give you a combination of medical as well as surgical treatment that comprises of:

• Oxygen therapy
• IV fluids
• Lowering body temperature
• Medication
• Ventriculostomy
• Surgery