What should you know about intracranial hypertension causes?

Because the skull has little room to expand, pressure can rise when brain tissue swells, blood volume increases, cerebrospinal fluid builds up, or a growth occupies space. Head injury, infection, inflammation, bleeding and problems with fluid circulation are examples clinicians may consider. Some people have raised pressure without a mass, bleeding or another clear structural explanation; this is sometimes called idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Medicines, hormone-related factors and body-weight changes may influence risk in some people, but a symptom does not identify its cause.

Assessment usually combines a neurological examination, an eye examination and brain imaging. Depending on the findings, a clinician may test cerebrospinal fluid or request blood tests. Share details of headaches, visual symptoms, vomiting, recent injury or infection, pregnancy, and every medicine or supplement you use. Conditions affecting fluid balance, including [Chronic Kidney Disease](/conditions/chronic-kidney-disease/) or [Heart Failure](/conditions/heart-failure/), should be disclosed. Treatment follows the identified cause rather than the label alone.

Seek emergency help for sudden severe headache, confusion, seizure, collapse, repeated vomiting, new weakness, speech difficulty or rapidly worsening eyesight. These symptoms may signal dangerous pressure, bleeding or [Stroke](/conditions/stroke/). Do not wait for a routine appointment when neurological function changes quickly. Persistent headache with visual symptoms also deserves prompt assessment, even if it is not dramatic.

Which possible cause fits my symptoms and examination? Do I need imaging or an eye assessment? Could a medicine, recent illness or injury be involved? What result would change treatment? Which warning signs require emergency help?