Shaken Baby Syndrome
What is Shaken Baby Syndrome?
The
Syndrome, is the kind of traumatic brain injury that is inflicted when a young
baby is shaken intensely.
A
young baby may have undeveloped neck muscles and by comparison to an older
child, a large and heavy head.
Violent
shaking can sometimes make often quite fragile brain bounce backwards and
forwards inside the babies skull and can cause bleeding, bruising, and
swelling.
This
can lead to severe brain damage that may be permanent or even death.
The characteristic injuries of shaken baby syndrome are:-
-
Bleeding
in the brain (Subdural hemorrhages)
-
Bleeding in the
retina (Retinal hemorrhages)
-
Neck
and spinal cord damage
-
Rib
and bone fractures.
These injuries
may not be noticed at first.
Shaken
Baby Syndrome Symptoms - may include:-
-
An
extremely irritable child
-
A
child who becomes lethargic
-
A
child who is of there feed
-
General
problems with breathing
-
Occasional
convulsions
-
Sickness
or vomiting
-
Bluish
or very pale skin color.
Generally
this kind of injury will occur in children who are less than than 2 years
old. This can however be found in children below the age of 6.
Can
this be treated?
Respiratory
support with measures to sustain life, even surgery can be used to prevent
or stop internal bleeding in the brain.
Some
Doctors will use scans of the brain, like CT or MRI scans in order to
diagnose the problem more efficiently.
What
will be the general prognosis?
When
compared to a normal child, infants with any kind of traumatic injury to
the brain do not have such a good prognosis.
Damage to the
eyes can sometimes cause retinal blindness.
In
the main, babies who have survived a severe shaking can have a form of neurological
disorder or a mental disability.
They
may have some mental retardation or cerebral palsy, which in some cases
will not be completely apparent before they are 6 years old.
Sometimes,
children who have shaken baby syndrome could need medical care for the
rest of their lives.
Is
this subject being researched?
A
lot of the current research is attuned to finding much better ways in the treatment and
healing of the infants who have shaken baby syndrome or similar
conditions.
The
author of Shaken Baby Syndrome is Anthony George
For
more articles like this: Shaken Syndrome Visit:-
Http://www.freetipson.co.uk
Source
Information:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
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© Anthony George 2005 Shaken Baby Syndrome
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