Delirium
The term delirium comes from a Latin word, ‘delirare’ which means ‘to be out of one’s track’. It is a state of acute brain damage. Complete brain damage is commonly known as ‘coma’. Delirium is a condition in which the affected person is totally out of his/her mind, but is not in coma, i.e. he/she is still in a slight wakeful and functional state. The affected person remains unaware of its surroundings. Total inattentiveness is observed. Hallucinations are commonly observed by the patient. There are fluctuations in anxiety levels. Sometimes the person behaves violently, other times he/she may behave mildly. This is also because the sleep cycle of the person is disturbed.
Treatment of delirium includes three points:
1. Medication: for non-alcoholics, “neuroleptics” are considered as the best treatment of delirium. For alcoholics, “benzodiazepines” are used. These drugs lower anxiety level of the patient.
2. Environmental alteration: The environment of the patient should be changed. This helps in proper treatment. Proper lighting is required in the area where the patient lives. Apart from this, the patient’s room should be equipped with beautiful pictures of the environment, calendars, clocks, signs like arrows indicating the location of bathroom, reading room etc. This brings positive vibrations to the brain. Also, mind distraction of the patient decreases by changing the environment; and the patient stays oriented in this way.
3. Family support: Love, care and affection of family members is essential for any medical treatment; so is here.
Experiments have shown that following the above pattern of treatment improves the sleep cycle of the patient; as a result the disease’ affect becomes reversible.