Why does a child roll his eyes up? Causes

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As soon as an infant appears in the family, all the attention of household members is captured to him. Parents worry every second for their baby and not only admire them, but also watch that nothing bad happens to the child. It is not surprising that a mother or father starts to panic if they notice that the child rolls his eyes up for no apparent reason.

the child rolls his eyes up

Opinions of specialists on this subject vary, but there are several common reasons for the appearance of such symptoms. To determine them, you need to observe the baby.

How it happens

Quite often a newborn baby rolls his eyes up for quite understandable reasons. For example, before going to bed or he just noticed something interesting on the wall. However, there are a number of serious ailments that can disturb parents: muscle hypertonicity, malfunctioning of the nervous system, intracranial pressure, or congenital malformation.

If a child rolls his eyes upwards, throwing back his head, then you need to carefully study the circumstances in which symptoms appear:

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  • In a dream, during wakefulness or when a baby cries?
  • Is the child lying on his stomach, back or turned to one side?
  • At what age did the symptoms begin?
  • In the process of how a child rolls his eyes up and to the side, he feels uncomfortable, cries, trembles or strains?
  • Does this happen in a dream?

child rolls his eyes upwards a year

When you do not worry

If the baby does not cry and does not feel uneasy, he does not have vomiting and high fever, then in some situations such unnatural, at first glance, behavior should not cause concern:

  • During sleep, children sometimes throw their headsback. Most often, children behave this way up to 4 months. In this case, it is only necessary to change the position of the infant sometimes, so that the muscles of the neck do not become numb.
  • Very often, parents put a lot of different toys into the crib. Perhaps one of them was behind the baby's head. Since he does not yet know how to hold his head, the child rolls his eyes upward, trying to look back. Arrange all the toys in front of the baby so that he can reach them without difficulty.

the child rolls his eyes up and away

  • If a child just throws back his head, and it happens during whimpering, then this too is not a terrible sign. Most likely, it's just a little nervous breakdown, which will soon pass.
  • If the baby throws his head back and rolls his eyes, then this may be an attempt to sit or roll over on the stomach.

When you need to worry

If the baby is already a year old and the child rolls his eyes up, then this can be a sign of certain disorders. In this situation, you should contact a specialist. Also descends to the doctor is recommended if:

  • In the process of rolling eyes, eyeballs do not go up, but down.
  • The kid is constantly crying and experiencing anxiety.
  • The baby unnaturally rotates the eye sockets quite often throughout the day.

why a child rolls his eyes up

If a child of 6 years rolls his eyes up, this may be a sign of an initial stage:

  • of nervous exhaustion or a disorder;
  • epileptic seizures;
  • hydrocephalic syndrome;
  • development retardation.

However, most often this can be the cause of hyperonus muscle or increased intracranial pressure. To determine more accurately, you will need an MRI of the brain and other tests.

Hypertonus of muscles

This syndrome is considered quite normal if the baby is not yet 6 months old. Since the child's muscles do not develop immediately, he can easily tilt his head, unable to hold it with the power of the cervical department.

If the crumb is more than half a year, you need to try to determine for yourself whether the child suffers from muscle hypertonia. For this you need:

  • Put the baby on your stomach. If he raises his head, pushing his shoulders and not using his hands, the muscles are in normal tone.
  • Put the child on your back and pull it by yourself by the handles. If at this moment the child rolls his eyes up, throws back his head and can not help himself, the muscles are also in the right stage of development.
  • Take the crumb on your hands and bring it to the floor( as if putting it on its feet).If he crosses the legs and he does not have a pacing reflex, then this may indicate a disease.

In this case, you need to do with the baby gymnastics and massage him to normalize blood circulation and stimulate the normal development of the muscular apparatus.

Problems with eye muscles

Hypertension of the eye muscles is also quite common. In this case, you can also help your child with special exercises. Most often, doctors recommend training the eyes in the following way:

  1. It is necessary to take a bright toy and hold it in front of a crumb until it starts focusing on it.
  2. Start moving the object in different directions, slowly approaching and distancing it from the face of the baby.
  3. Ensure that the child observes the toy with his eyes, regardless of position.

child 6 years rolls his eyes up

It is also recommended to hang a moving carousel with small cars or any other objects over the child's crib. So he can train his visual muscles, when parents have no time to do exercises with him.

Increased intracranial pressure

Most often, to determine why a child rolls his eyes up, doctors are interested in the mother, whether she had injuries or problems during the gestation or birth of the baby. According to the practice, any complications( especially in late pregnancy) can affect the health of the newborn. If problems were, then specialists very often diagnose ICP( intracranial pressure).

To determine that a baby suffers from this ailment, it is necessary to pay attention to the following symptoms:

  • Uneasy sleep, constant moods( or, conversely, excessive calm and lethargy).
  • Tremors of the lower jaw.
  • Blue skin in the nasolabial area.
  • Development of strabismus.
  • The asymmetry of the skull and too rapid growth of the head.

This ailment can develop if the toddler suffered from:

  • oxygen starvation in the womb;
  • of the umbilical cord, which wound around his neck during childbirth;
  • other complications.

However, do not panic, because increased intracranial pressure is diagnosed quite often and it can be the reason that the child rolls his eyes up. Komarovsky( known throughout the country as a pediatrician) has repeatedly said in his television programs that such problems are found in every second newborn. Nevertheless, this does not mean that you can relax and wait until the ailment "dissolves" itself. It is necessary to consult a doctor who will prescribe a course of vitamins and other drugs to the child.

newborn baby rolls his eyes up

If ICP does not begin to be treated timely, it can lead to mental retardation, blindness and paralysis.

What to do if the baby starts rolling his eyes

Absolutely, one thing can be said - in no case can you do self-medication. Even when it comes to traditional medicine, it is very important to understand that the internal organs of the crumbs have not yet fully developed, and those drugs that are considered harmless to an adult can harm a newborn.

Only a doctor can distinguish pathology from minor deviations. Most experts do not resort to aggressive treatment, limiting themselves to gymnastics and exercises, so do not worry that the baby will have to pepper the pill.

Symptoms that promptly call a doctor

There are a number of symptoms in which you need to immediately register with a neurologist:

  • The baby has become very malnourished, but often regurgitates.
  • The Kid throws his head back, lying on his side.
  • The crumb does not move well.
  • One of the limbs of the child "does not obey", and the second one works normally.