Delirium: Clinical Features

Delirium is referred to a sudden change in the mental state of a human being. It is mainly caused by mental or physical illness and is temporary and reversible if the cause is known early and treated on time.

But at the same time it can be dangerous too. It can occur in any age but old people are mostly affected by this.

Causes

Some causes of delirium could be pneumonia, some side effects of certain drugs, acid disturbance in the body and poisoning. Any drug that has adverse effect on brain can make a person delirious. Sometimes a very minor problem like urinary tract infection can also cause this.

Some people who are in hospitals especially in ICU’s can have this problem because the people are kept isolated there. The room has no windows and sleep is disturbed due to treatment being done. After-effects of some surgeries can also cause delirium due to the anesthetics and pain-killers used.

People who are used to drink alcohol or take some type of drugs like cocaine, heroine when suddenly stop there intake can cause delirium. Old age people develop this condition very frequently.

Symptoms

There could be many symptoms and differ from person to person. Some symptoms can be listed such as reduction in consciousness, changes in sleeping pattern, getting confused, changes in movement such as sometimes hyperactive and sometimes very depressive, and some emotional changes such as anger, anxiety, irritability, depression and decrease in short term memory.

Medical Advice

Immediate medical advice should be taken if your near one is having any of the above symptoms. Doctor would ask a series of question related to the disease. Series of blood tests are done to see if there are some serious infections in the body. The person would be admitted to the hospital and noticed for certain time. Once the cause is known the treatment starts and person is released from the hospital.

Family Support

Some simple steps have to be taken by the family members that could help a lot in treating these kinds of patients. Sit with these patients and talk. Do not leave them alone for long. Encourage the patient to move out in fresh air and talk to other people. Accompany the patient and never let him go by himself. This would be very helpful.