Brain tumors may occur at any age, but are rare during the first year of life, says the American Brain Tumor Association. Typically, specific tumors have a particular age group in which they are most common. The most common childhood brain tumors are astrocytomas, medulloblastomas, brain and brain stem gliomas as well as ependymomas. Symptoms of brain tumors in children vary significantly depending on the size and the location of the tumor, but are often vague, especially in a young child who is not able to fully describe his symptoms. Some symptoms may resemble those found in a variety of common childhood illnesses. The main difference is that most of these illnesses have symptoms that pass quite rapidly. Symptoms of brain tumors, however, persist and worsen over time.
Headaches
A common symptom associated with brain tumors is a severe, persistent headache. Typically, a child suffers from these headaches upon wakening. According to CancerHelp.org, headaches caused by brain tumors tend to worsen over time and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. These headaches originate from the pressure exerted by the growing tumor on the skull. This often causes anything that increases the pressure inside the head to worsen the headaches. Such activities include coughing, sneezing and bending over.
Seizures
Seizures are often the first symptom experienced by a brain tumor patient that leads to diagnosis, says CancerHelp.org. Seizures are sudden changes in behavior due to excessive electrical activity in the brain. They may appear rapidly or develop slowly over time, caused by pressure or scar tissue that develops after surgery. A seizure can cause twitching and convulsions, loss of bowel control, incontinence and loss of consciousness. These types of symptoms can sometimes be controlled with prescribed epilepsy medication.
Cognitive Symptoms
The location and size of the tumor has a crucial effect on the severity and type of cognitive symptoms that the child may have, says the Children's Hospital Boston. The most common locations of brain tumors that cause cognitive symptoms are the frontal, the temporal and the parietal lobes. A child with a frontal lobe tumor may become aggressive, or his personality may change. Dysfunctions in learning, attention, memory and language are also common. Language-related problems are commonplace with children suffering from brain tumors, especially if the growth is located in the left side of the brain. Tumors in the occipital lobe can cause vision-related problems, such as blurred or double vision.
Symptoms in Infants
Infants may show an additional set of symptoms, according to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Fontanelles are soft spots on a baby's head. In infants with brain tumors, the growing tumor can cause them to bulge. The soft spots might appear larger between bulging bones. The size of the head of an infant might grow more rapidly than normal if a brain tumor is present. An infant may also have severe arching of the back, causing only the back of the head and the heels to touch the bed when lying on the back.
