Final answer:
Untreated rising Intracranial Pressure (ICP) can lead to serious health issues including decreased consciousness, seizures, and ultimately, coma or cardiac arrest. Severe cases can be fatal and require immediate medical intervention.
Step-by-step explanation:
When Intracranial Pressure (ICP) rises and is left untreated, it can lead to a series of severe health complications. Initial symptoms may include decreased consciousness, fever, jaundice, and hypotension. Left unchecked, rising ICP can result in temperature instability, feeding difficulties, seizures, and other neurological effects such as lethargy, and loss of appetite. In extreme cases, patients may experience apnea, stiff neck, or even cardiac arrest. The inflammation can also cause bulging fontanel in infants, limb weakness or paralysis, and opisthotonos (spasm where the head and heels arch backward in extreme hyperextension). If a severe rise in ICP is not addressed urgently, it can lead to coma, disseminated intravascular coagulation, potentially causing organ failure, and in many cases, it can be fatal.