Spring is an empty space between the bones of the skull, covered with a solid membrane. On the head of a small child there are as many as 6 such fontanels, four of which are usually closed before or immediately after birth. A small fontanel located on the parietal part of the head, closes (that is, overgrown with bone tissue) to 2-3 months, and the largest - in the interval of 6 to 18 months.
Rodnichki perform a very important function - they protect the brain of the child from shocks and injuries during childbirth and in the first years of life, performing a kind of shock absorber. In the process of delivery, the skull bones move slightly so that the baby can pass through the mother's birth canal. Because of this, the head of the newborn is slightly flattened at the sides, but literally for several weeks it aligns. When a child learns to crawl, walk and run, he often falls, and here the fontanel also helps: thanks to him, a baby who has hit his head very hard, has less risk of getting a concussion.
Due to the presence of the fontanel, the baby's head seems very vulnerable, but in fact it is not. The membrane closes the fontanel securely, and through it one can sometimes see how it is pulsing slightly. Many parents, especially if their child is a first-born, worry, thinking that this pulsation is a bad symptom, and sometimes they are even afraid to touch the baby's head once again. But all this is nothing more than a myth, and now you will learn whether the fontanel should pulsate and why.
Why is the fontanel pulsing?
The pulsation of the large fontanel is absolutely normal. The fact is that the blood vessels of the brain are surrounded by a liquid, which transmits their pulsation. The liquid (it carries the name "liquor") transfers the pulsation to the fontanel - this process is observed by the parents. This is no more dangerous than the movement of the chest in the heartbeat, that is completely harmless. Do not be afraid to touch the fontanel: if you touch it gently, nothing terrible will happen.
Anxiety should be caused not by an ordinary, barely noticeable pulsation, but by the following symptoms:
- the fontanel at the child strongly and often pulsates;
- there is an overgrowth or, on the contrary, excessive bulge (the first case may be due to dehydration of the body in poisoning, infectious diseases, etc., and the second - by increasing intracranial pressure);
- the fontanel does not pulsate at all;
- the fontanel pulsates constantly for a long time, and at the same time the kid behaves restlessly: sleeps badly, refuses food, fits, cries much, and often spews a lot. In this case, you need to immediately consult a neurologist, who will send the child for examination.
The timing of the closure of the fontanel also speaks volumes. If, for example, a large fontanel closes too early (before the age of three months), this may indicate a hypervitaminosis or an overabundance in the body of calcium. In such cases it is recommended to stop giving the child vitamin D, which is usually prescribed to all babies for the prevention of rickets. If the child
Rodnichok is an excellent assistant to parents and doctors, because thanks to him you can identify various diseases that are successfully treated in the early stages. In addition to pulsation, which is an important indicator, it is possible to perform ultrasound examination of the large fontanel until it is closed. With its help, it is possible to diagnose asymmetry of the ventricles of the brain, increased intracranial pressure and all sorts of pathologies of the brain. Therefore, all parents are advised to monitor the condition of the fontanel in order to notice and warn the danger in time.