BODY SIGNAL ALERT: CONFUSION, ACUTE
Description and Possible Medical Problems
The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde may or may not have been true but to watch a relative change from a self-assured, coherent person into’ a confused, insecure person can be scary for everyone involved. When an elderly relative sometimes calls you by your sister’s name, it’s certainly annoying and troubling, but most people consider it as part of the process of growing older.
On the other hand, if you’ve recently witnessed an elderly relative become confused and incoherent within a matter of days or even hours, it’s a sign that she needs immediate medical attention. Acute confusion tends to be accompanied by serious physical symptoms that usually point to a direct cause of the confusion.
For instance, when acute confusion is coupled with other Body Signals such as losing control of the bladder, losing the use of a limb, or slurring words, it can be a sign of a stroke, which is caused when the blood supply to a part of the brain is interrupted by a blockage or clot. Typically, a stroke affects only one side of the body, like one arm, or an arm and leg on the same side, or even the face, arm, and leg. A person who has a stroke may also lose consciousness for a while, and her breathing may have also been altered by the stroke, since a stroke can affect the area of the brain that controls breathing.
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