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Our mental state can definitely be affected when we feel confused. This can happen when you feel overtired, have difficulty sleeping at night, or have other medical conditions. Obviously, these are scary things to experience and should be taken very seriously! Just like it affects your mental wellbeing, confusion also affects your physical health.
Confusion can be linked to the following symptoms in your body:. Although associated with feeling confused, these symptoms could also be caused by alcohol or drug abuse, and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Certain medications can also have confusion listed as a side effect. Listen to your body, always. When we feel confused, it can also make us feel really lost and scared. We might not know what to do next!
Also, pain, pain medication, and unfamiliar surroundings after surgery can contribute to confusion. Numerous chronic illnesses can cause confusion, especially when they progress to damage organs, including the brain. People with sensory problems , such as trouble hearing or seeing, may be more prone to confusion, particularly in new settings. This, too, is more common among older people.
A person who does not have access to their usual assistive devices is even more vulnerable to confusion, such as when an older person leaves their hearing aids at home before going to the hospital. Some people develop confusion in unfamiliar settings, particularly during periods of intense stress. People with other risk factors for confusion, such as dementia, are more likely to experience this issue in unfamiliar places, without the memory cues and references points that they usually rely on.
Any health problem that affects the brain can cause confusion. Dementia is one of the most common causes of delirium, or confusion, in older people, but delirium does not mean that a person has dementia. Virtually any health condition can trigger confusion, especially in people with risk factors. Some other potential causes of confusion include:. Older people have a higher risk of developing delirium — a sudden onset of confusion.
Anyone who experiences this should receive urgent medical care. Research suggests that older adults with delirium and other health issues have a less favorable outlook, overall. For example, a person hospitalized for breathing issues may have a higher risk of returning to the hospital or dying if they also have delirium.
A person can have delirium as well as dementia, and dementia increases the risk of delirium. It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between the two issues. In hospitals, about half of older people who have dementia also have delirium.
For some older people, confusion during an illness is an early warning sign of dementia. For others, an illness worsens preexisting dementia symptoms. Some older people develop new or worsening confusion when they are sick, especially if they have dementia.
Dementia is a slow decline in memory, problem-solving ability, learning ability, and judgment that may occur over several weeks to several months. Many health conditions can cause dementia or symptoms similar to dementia. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in people older than age Delirium is a sudden change in how well a person's brain is working mental status.
Delirium can cause confusion, change the sleep-wake cycles, and cause unusual behavior. Delirium can have many causes, such as withdrawal from alcohol or drugs or medicines, or the development or worsening of an infection or other health problem. Amnesia is memory loss that may be caused by a head injury, a stroke, substance abuse, or a severe emotional event, such as from combat or a motor vehicle accident.
Depending upon the cause, amnesia may be either temporary or permanent. Health problems that can cause confusion or decreased alertness include: Infections, such as a urinary tract infection , respiratory infection , or sepsis. Alzheimer's disease. Asthma or COPD , which cause a decrease in the amount of oxygen or an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood. Cardiac problems, such as heart failure , coronary artery disease , or irregular heartbeats arrhythmias , that reduce blood flow.
Problems from diabetes. Kidney or liver failure , which causes high levels of toxins to build up in the blood.
Malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies caused by health problems, such as alcohol use disorder Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Mental health problems, such as depression or schizophrenia. Thyroid problems, such as hypothyroidism , myxedema coma , or hyperthyroidism. These problems may develop from: Taking too much of a medicine overmedicating or taking medicines that may interact with each other.
Overuse of medicines may be the single biggest cause of memory loss or confusion in older adults. Alcohol and medicine interactions. This is a problem, especially for older adults, who may take many medicines at the same time. Misusing a medicine or alcohol use disorder. Drug intoxication or the effects of withdrawal. Other causes of confusion or decreased alertness can include: A head injury.
Decreased or blocked blood flow to the brain. This may occur during a transient ischemic attack TIA or a stroke. Infection, such as a brain abscess, encephalitis , meningitis , or sepsis. Sexually transmitted infections , such as syphilis late-stage and human immunodeficiency virus HIV. A seizure disorder epilepsy. Brain tumors. Conditions in the environment that can cause changes in the level of consciousness include: Cold temperature exposure, leading to hypothermia.
High temperature exposure, leading to heatstroke. This especially affects older adults when their environment and routines are changed. Decreased oxygen in the blood hypoxia from high altitude. Exposure to toxins poisons , such as carbon monoxide. Check Your Symptoms Do you have a problem with memory loss, confusion, or changes in how alert you feel? How old are you? Are you male or female?
Why do we ask this question? The medical assessment of symptoms is based on the body parts you have. If you are transgender or nonbinary, choose the sex that matches the body parts such as ovaries, testes, prostate, breasts, penis, or vagina you now have in the area where you are having symptoms.
If you have some organs of both sexes, you may need to go through this triage tool twice once as "male" and once as "female". This will make sure that the tool asks the right questions for you. Have you had a recent head injury? Did you pass out completely lose consciousness?
If you are answering for someone else: Is the person unconscious now? Are you back to your normal level of alertness? After passing out, it's normal to feel a little confused, weak, or lightheaded when you first wake up or come to. But unless something else is wrong, these symptoms should pass pretty quickly and you should soon feel about as awake and alert as you normally do.
Did the loss of consciousness occur during the past 24 hours? Could you be having symptoms of a stroke? Could you be having symptoms of a heart attack?
If you're having a heart attack, there are several areas where you may feel pain or other symptoms. Has there been a decrease in how alert or aware you are or how well you can think and respond? Is this something that is part of a medical problem you already have or that you have discussed with a doctor before?
Is the problem:. Quickly getting worse over minutes to hours? Slowly getting worse over days? Staying about the same not better or worse? Getting better? Getting worse? Staying the same not better or worse? Do you feel or have you recently felt confused in a way that is not normal for you? Are you having trouble breathing more than a stuffy nose?
Would you describe the problem as severe, moderate, or mild? Do you think that the confusion may be caused by poisoning or by an alcohol or drug overdose? Have you had muscle movements that you can't control, like twitching, shaking, or other repeated motions? One or more episodes of unexplained, purposeless, repeated body movement. Do you have epilepsy or a history of seizures? Are the symptoms you're having now different than your usual seizure symptoms? Are you back to normal now and not feeling confused?
Have you had problems with memory loss? Have you had a sudden and complete loss of memory? Do you think that a medicine may be affecting your memory? Think about whether the memory problems started when you began using a new medicine or a higher dose of a medicine.
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