Symptoms:
- Difficulty swallowing, which can lead to choking.
- Hoarseness.
- Breath-holding and problems breathing during sleep.
- Below-average intelligence.
- Seizure disorders
- Strabismus (sometimes called crossed-eyes), a vision problem in which the eyes do not both look in the same direction at the same time.
Symptoms of the occult spina bifida mild type:
- Small spinal defect
- Hairy area in lower back
- Skin lump in lower back
Symptoms of meningocele type:
- Spinal opening
- Improperly formed vertebrae
- Missing vertebrae
- Swelling on newborn''s back - this contains CSF
Symptoms resulting from spinal and/or brain effects: