Dorothy FarrarDisturbance of consciousness
Disorders of consciousness describe a deviation from normal consciousness. The affected person shows slowed, no or inappropriate reactions to his environment. This serious neurological disorder can be caused by various triggers and urgently requires medical treatment.
What are disorders of consciousness?
Experts understand the term impaired consciousness to be a neurological disorder that makes it impossible for the person affected to perceive their environment in the usual way and/or to react accordingly. This disorder is one of the psychopathological symptoms and can express itself in many different ways. This can lead to a change in perception, drowsiness, drowsiness or apathy .
Disorders of consciousness do not always have to be felt negatively by those affected, but can also manifest themselves, for example, in an unnaturally increased alertness up to ecstatic feelings. Experts distinguish between qualitative disorders of consciousness, which relate to the clarity of consciousness or the content of consciousness, and quantitative disorders of consciousness, which relate to the level of alertness of the person concerned.
Causes
Disorders of consciousness can be triggered by different factors. They are always a symptom of a health disorder and therefore require medical treatment.Possible triggers for impaired consciousness include, for example, injuries in which a craniocerebral trauma was caused. Concussions or a fracture of the base of the skull can lead to impaired consciousness, as can increased intracranial pressure or a stroke.
Epileptic seizures often also cause disturbances of consciousness. A significantly increased or reduced blood sugar level can also lead to the affected person’s consciousness being temporarily clouded.
Ultimately, poisoning or the consumption of certain medicines or drugs is also a possible cause of various types of disturbances in consciousness. The symptoms are often temporary disorders that can be eliminated by appropriate medical measures.
Under certain circumstances, however, the impairment of consciousness may be permanent and cannot be rectified. This mainly depends on how severely and in what way the patient’s brain was damaged.
Diseases
When to the doctor?
If disturbances of consciousness occur, a doctor should be consulted immediately. Since these can be repeated, it is not possible to predict the situations in which they will occur. In some cases there is even a risk of death. If a disturbance of consciousness occurs while driving a car, there is a risk of an accident, which puts the person concerned and other people in a life-threatening situation.
Loss of consciousness can cause the sufferer to tip over and fall. There is always a risk of injury. Loss of consciousness can be a symptom of a serious illness. The underlying disease must be identified and diagnosed. Often there is a dysfunction of the brain or other organs. Depending on the affected area in the brain or organ, bleeding or swelling in the organism may have occurred. Sometimes these are insidious processes, which in turn can trigger life-threatening conditions.
In severe cases, there is a risk of a stroke. This is associated with lifelong ailments such as paralysis . In addition, it can have a fatal course. If an organ in the body has been damaged, a stress reaction occurs in the organism. The heart has to work harder. Loss of consciousness often occurs as a side effect. The damage can be triggered by an accident or develop slowly and insidiously through bleeding. Sometimes there is no direct temporal connection between an incident and the disturbance of consciousness. In all cases, consulting a doctor is essential.
Diagnosis and course
A doctor can often diagnose mental disorders with just a few tests. If a patient does not speak, only responds with a delay or in an inappropriate manner when spoken to, this can already indicate disorders of consciousness. Simple questions and mechanical tests also provide information about whether the patient’s consciousness is clouded or disturbed.
The course of disturbances of consciousness depends on the particular cause that causes the symptoms. In some cases, the patient’s condition will improve on its own. However, it can also happen that he suffers permanently from the disturbances of consciousness or that these worsen to the extent that independent living and coping with everyday life is no longer possible. If the symptoms are due to a physical illness, it can be fatal in the worst case.
Complications
The complications of a disturbance of consciousness are highly dependent on the underlying cause. They can range from a brief lapse of little concern to a life-threatening situation. If the person concerned is in a state of hypoglycaemia , he may already suffer from disturbances of consciousness. A healthy person can easily regulate this condition by consuming sugary foods.
If the disturbances of consciousness occur more frequently due to low blood sugar, it should be checked whether diabetes is present. For a diagnosed diabetic, impaired consciousness is an indication that they have forgotten to take their insulin or that the dosage needs to be adjusted. The disturbance of consciousness can be associated with or trigger seizures. Severe forms of impaired consciousness mean that those affected can no longer cope with their everyday life without outside help.
They experience limitations in locomotion, in carrying out everyday tasks and have to be very careful about which steps they want to take next. Patients are in constant danger of losing consciousness and at the same time being in a life-threatening situation. This can happen when crossing the street as well as when dealing with an open fire when lighting a candle. A particularly serious complication is delirium. This condition is classified as an emergency and requires immediate intensive care.
Treatment and therapy
If consciousness disorders have been clearly diagnosed and the individual cause of the symptoms has been identified, the doctor treating you can initiate appropriate therapy. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, it may be necessary to treat the patient as an inpatient.
If a mental illness is the cause of the disturbance of consciousness, long-term therapy takes place, which consists of discussions and other measures. It can also be accompanied by medication. If the symptoms are caused by a drop in blood pressure or an unbalanced blood sugar level, the condition can be normalized by stimulating the circulation or by administering glucose.
Loss of consciousness caused by injuries may require surgery to prevent permanent damage. Longer inpatient therapy is often required here.
Poisoning must also be treated immediately, otherwise the patient’s life may be in danger. Here it may be necessary to pump out the stomach and/or to neutralize the substance causing the symptoms by administering appropriate medication.
A stroke often requires subsequent rehabilitation measures in order to completely or at least partially eliminate the damage that has occurred. In this case, the extent to which the physical symptoms and the disturbances of consciousness are permanent depends on how severe the stroke was.
Outlook and prognosis
The prognosis depends on the underlying cause. In the case of healing illnesses such as heat stroke or sunstroke , the disturbance of consciousness stops as soon as the underlying illness has healed. If the disorder occurs in diseases such as diabetes mellitus or high blood pressure, the symptoms will be alleviated as soon as the patient has been given medication. Non-compliance with the dosage increases the risk of suffering from impaired consciousness again.
In chronic conditions such as panic disorder or epilepsy, the loss of consciousness occurs as soon as the patient’s condition worsens or a prescribed medication is not followed. If there is irreparable brain damage, a constant course of the disease can be assumed, depending on the affected brain area. A cure can be ruled out in these cases, since destroyed brain tissue cannot be restored.
If the disturbance of consciousness occurs as a side effect of other medication, spontaneous healing occurs as soon as the medication is discontinued. If the disturbance of consciousness is triggered by a stroke or delirium, treatment of the trigger leads to permanent alleviation of the disturbance of consciousness. In the presence of mental illness, the disorder is reduced as soon as the cause has been found and treated psychotherapeutically. In the case of alcohol or drug poisoning, the impaired consciousness heals as soon as the causative substance has been removed from the body.
Prevention
Since disturbances of consciousness often occur as a result of an accident or a spontaneously occurring illness, prevention is not possible in these cases. However, medical help should be sought as soon as the first symptoms appear in order to avoid subsequent damage or a potentially fatal course.
Disorders of consciousness caused by the consumption of certain medicines or drugs can be prevented by not using these substances or by using appropriate therapy. In general, a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and sufficient exercise is recommended in order to avoid diseases and possible disturbances of consciousness.
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.