These changes are usually mild, but if more severe, the changes in personality can be very frightening to both the child and the parent. Delirium is a serious disturbance in mental abilities. It involves changes in behavior, confused thinking, and reduced awareness of a person's surroundings. Delirium is a serious complication of medical illness. It is caused by the presence of one or more contributing medical factors. These may include: severe or chronic medical illness, a change in body chemistry such as low sodium , medication, infection, surgery, or severe injury like broken bones or serious burns.
Delirium requires appropriate diagnosis and adequate treatment. Signs and symptoms of delirium can start suddenly over a few hours or more gradually over a few days. They often come and go throughout the day. There may be periods of no symptoms. The symptoms may get better or worse. Symptoms can last for hours or weeks. Symptoms for children tend to be worse beginning in the late afternoon through the nighttime.
Often delirium interferes with sleep. Primary signs of delirium include:. Input is gathered from nursing and the rest of the medical team. These assessments often can be done informally through conversation with the child and parent. The doctor may also want to perform physical exams and sometimes lab tests. The purpose of these exams is to check for health problems or an underlying disease that might be causing the delirium.
Treating delirium starts with addressing the underlying causes or triggers. It may mean reducing the dosage or eliminating a medication until the delirium is resolved. It may mean treating an infection. When delirium is severe, a short course of medication is sometimes needed to help the brain recover fully. Delirium is usually a temporary condition. It is reversible when the underlying condition has been treated. If you see any of the signs of delirium, talk to your child. Try to clarify what he or she is experiencing.
Overview Delirium is a serious disturbance in mental abilities that results in confused thinking and reduced awareness of the environment. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Delirium. Arlington, Va. Accessed May 1, Merck Manual Professional Version. Francis J Jr, et al. Diagnosis of delirium and confusional states. Francis J Jr. Delirium and acute confusional states: Prevention, treatment, and prognosis.
Getting started with long-distance caregiving. National Institute on Aging. Hshieh TT, et al. Effectiveness of multi-component non-pharmacologic delirium interventions: A meta-analysis. Blair GJ, et al. Nonpharmacologic and medication minimization strategies for the prevention and treatment of ICU delirium: A narrative review. Journal of Intensive Care Medicine.
In press. Overview of delirium and dementia. Accessed May 7, Caregiver Action Network. First Known Use of delirious , in the meaning defined at sense 1. History and Etymology for delirious see delirium. Buying Guide Our team at The Usage has selected the best thermometers of Learn More About delirious. Time Traveler for delirious The first known use of delirious was in See more words from the same year. Style: MLA. English Language Learners Definition of delirious.
Kids Definition of delirious. Other Words from delirious deliriously adverb deliriously happy. Medical Definition of delirious. Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? Love words?
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