Health encyclopaedia

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Symptoms of Spina bifida

The effects vary with the type of spina bifida and how severe it is. The milder forms of the condition, such as the mild forms of meningocoele, often described as tethered spinal cord, can produce symptoms at any age, although they usually appear in early childhood.

They include: 

• back pain,
• weakness in the lower limbs, and
• bowel and bladder problems.

Myelomeningocele may cause the legs to be paralysed or lose all sensation. In the worst cases the whole of the lower body may be paralysed and there may be no control of the bladder (incontinence).

Repeated urinary tract infections may lead to kidney damage. Failure of normal circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid (a clear, watery fluid that moves between the spine and the brain) may lead to ‘water on the brain’ (hydrocephalus)

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