Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffHydrocephalus is often detected at birth or in early infancy when a baby shows the characteristic sign of an enlarged head. It's likely that your family doctor or your child's pediatrician will notice these signs and symptoms during regular checkups.
In older children or adults, call your doctor if you notice changes that are similar to the signs and symptoms of hydrocephalus. After an initial evaluation, your doctor may refer you to a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions that affect the brain and nervous system (neurologist).
Here's some information to help you get well prepared for your appointment.
What you can do
- Write down any signs and symptoms you or your child has been experiencing, and for how long.
- Note any recent injuries that may have caused head trauma.
- Write down key medical information, including other medical problems for which you or your child are being treated. Also list the names of any medications, vitamins, supplements or other natural remedies you or your child is taking.
- Ask a trusted family member or friend to join you for the appointment. If hydrocephalus is diagnosed, you may have great difficulty focusing on anything the doctor says next. Take someone along who can offer emotional support and can help you soak up all the information.
- Write down the questions you want to be sure to ask your doctor.
For hydrocephalus, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:
- What is likely causing these signs and symptoms?
- Are there any other possible causes?
- How will you determine a firm diagnosis?
- What treatment do you recommend?
- With treatment, is a normal life possible?
- What are the possible complications of treatment?
- What signs or symptoms — related to this condition or its treatments — should prompt me to call you?
- What signs or symptoms should prompt me to call 911 or my local emergency number?
- How frequently will follow-up care be needed?
- Could specialists in other areas help detect and treat problems commonly associated with this condition? Will you provide a referral?
- Are any future children of mine at increased risk of this condition?
- How can I find other families who are coping with hydrocephalus?
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions. Being ready to answer them may reserve time to go over any points you want to talk about in-depth. Your doctor may ask:
- What signs or symptoms have you noticed?
- Have these signs or symptoms changed over time?
- Do these signs or symptoms include nausea or vomiting?
- Do these signs or symptoms include eye or vision problems?
- Have you noticed any personality changes, including increased irritability?
- Have you noticed any new problems with movement or coordination?
- Have signs or symptoms included abnormal sleepiness or lack of energy?
- In infants: Have signs and symptoms included seizures?
- In infants: Have signs and symptoms included problems with eating or breathing?
- In older children and adults: Have signs and symptoms included headache?
- In older children and adults: Have signs and symptoms included urinary incontinence?
- Have you or your child had a recent head injury?
- Are you or is your child being treated for any other medical conditions?
What you can do in the meantime
If you notice any emergency signs or symptoms of hydrocephalus in your child — such as difficulty eating or breathing, recurrent vomiting, seizures, or an unwillingness to move the head or neck — call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.
- Hydrocephalus fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/hydrocephalus/detail_hydrocephalus.htm?css=print. Accessed July 17, 2009.
- Fishman MA. Hydrocephalus. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 17, 2009.
- Golden JA, et al. Developmental structural disorders. In: Goetz GD. Textbook of Clinical Neurology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: W.B. Saunders; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/150609977-3/864809399/1488/253.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3618-0..10028-1_1756. Accessed July 17, 2009.
- About hydrocephalus: A book for families. Hydrocephalus Association. http://www.hydroassoc.org/docs/AboutHydrocephalus-A_Book_for_Families_Dec08.pdf. Accessed July 17, 2009.
- Meningococcal: Who needs to be vaccinated? http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/mening/who-vaccinate.htm. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Accessed July 17, 2009.
