Confusion: Causes & Reasons

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Possible Causes for Confusion

Hypoglycemia

What you will feel is probably: shaky, a bit confused, a little uncoordinated, sweaty, some peoples eyes go funny. [web.archive.org]

In some cases, people with normal blood glucose levels experience symptoms that can be confused with hypoglycemia. [merckmanuals.com]

There is a slight chance you could be confusing it with being nervous, for example. Again, it's that similar feeling of adrenaline kicking in. [web.archive.org]

Acute Alcohol Intoxication

Alcohol, Vitamin B1 – Thiamine Deficiency and Brain Damage Acute alcohol intoxication will typically produce unsteadiness, slurring of speech and mild confusion. [stewartnutrition.co.uk]

Confusion If a man consumes more than five drinks or a woman more than 4 drinks in an hour, they’ll enter the next stage of intoxication: confusion. [healthline.com]

Call 911 if the person has these symptoms of alcohol poisoning: Mental confusion or unconsciousness Repeated vomiting Seizures Slow or irregular breathing Low body temperature [webmd.com]

Hyponatremia

Moderate - personality change, muscle cramps and weakness, confusion, ataxia. Severe - drowsiness. [patient.info]

A 41 year old Jordanian gentleman known case of osteogenesis imperfecta presented with vomiting, decreased oral intake followed by confusion. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Cognitive impairment (eg, short-term memory loss, disorientation, confusion, depression). Focal or generalised seizures. [patient.info]

Delirium

To develop and validate a new standardized confusion assessment method (CAM) that enables nonpsychiatric clinicians to detect delirium quickly in high-risk settings. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Objective: To develop and validate a new standardized confusion assessment method (CAM) that enables nonpsychiatric clinicians to detect delirium quickly in high-risk settings [doi.org]

Sudden confusion (delirium) can have many different causes. Get medical help immediately if someone suddenly becomes confused (delirious). [nhs.uk]

Head Trauma

Monitor them carefully for age appropriate symptoms of a TBI such as confusion or behavioral change. [webmd.com]

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be classified as mild if loss of consciousness and/or confusion and disorientation is shorter than 30 minutes. [traumaticbraininjury.com]

If a fellow player has signs of being confused or a sudden loss of coordination, be sure to report this to a coach. [webmd.com]

Brain Concussion

For example, in the first few minutes after the injury, someone might be just slightly confused or appear a little bit dazed. [utswmed.org]

Immediately after the accident, the person may be confused, not remember what happened or have nausea, blurry vision, or dizziness. [mayfieldclinic.com]

But an hour later, he or she might become confused or unable to recall what was going on before the injury. Repeatedly check for signs of concussion. [utswmed.org]

Acidosis

Respiratory acidosis:Presenting signs can include lethargy or fatigue, shortness of breath, confusion and sleepiness. [symptoma.com]

Acute (or acutely worsening chronic) respiratory acidosis causes headache, confusion, anxiety, drowsiness, and stupor (CO2 narcosis). [msdmanuals.com]

Confusion or lethargy may also occur. Severe metabolic acidosis can lead to shock or death. [nlm.nih.gov]

Acute Amphetamine Intoxication

[…] chills; nausea or vomiting; evidence of weight loss; psychomotor agitation or retardation; muscular weakness, respiratory depression, chest pain, or cardiac arrhythmias; and confusion [dsm.wikia.com]

The length and severity of the depression is related to how much and how often amphetamines were used. craving exhaustion depression mental confusion restlessness and insomnia [erowid.org]

Cognitive Difficulties Confusion, poor judgment, fainting, and loss of consciousness are amphetamine overdose symptoms you should be aware. [amphetamines.com]

Sepsis

(Redirected from Mental confusion) Confusion Specialty Psychiatry In medicine, confusion is the quality or state of being bewildered or unclear. [en.wikipedia.org]

In some people, the first signs of sepsis are confusion and rapid breathing. [verywellhealth.com]

Common symptoms of sepsis are fever, chills, rapid breathing and heart rate, rash, confusion and disorientation. [cottagehealth.org]

Transient Ischemic Attack

Compared with neurologists, GPs considered "confusion" and "unexplained fall" more often compatible with TIA and "lower facial palsy" and "monocular blindness" less often [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

They happen suddenly, and include Numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body Confusion or trouble speaking or understanding speech Trouble seeing in one or both [nlm.nih.gov]

Symptoms can include: numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body; confusion or difficulty in talking or understanding speech; trouble [ninds.nih.gov]

Acute Kidney Injury

More than 30 different definitions have been used in the literature, creating much confusion and making comparisons difficult. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

More severe cases may present with lethargy, fatigue, confusion, anorexia, nausea, and weight gain. [symptoma.com]

Symptoms Symptoms that can occur abruptly and progress rapidly in AKF are edema and crackling sound in the lungs (due to fluid retention), nausea and vomiting, confusion, [symptoma.com]

Dehydration

There is any other change in the person's alertness (for example, confusion or seizures). The person has a fever over 102°F (38.8°C). [nlm.nih.gov]

Dry, cool skin Headache Muscle cramps Signs of severe dehydration include: Not urinating, or very dark yellow or amber-colored urine Dry, shriveled skin Irritability or confusion [medlineplus.gov]

[…] yellow urine Dry, cool skin Headache Muscle cramps Signs of severe dehydration: Not urinating, or very dark yellow or amber-colored urine Dry, shriveled skin Irritability or confusion [nlm.nih.gov]

Dementia

A widely used screening tool is the Confusion Assessment Method. [health.harvard.edu]

Treating conditions that can lead to confusion often greatly improve mental function. [nlm.nih.gov]

During illness, hospitalization, or recovery from surgery or stroke, many people experience delirium, a rapidly developing and severe confusion accompanied by altered consciousness [health.harvard.edu]

Syncope

The overlap of these clinical conditions leads to confusion regarding syncope classification that can hinder evaluation strategies, and pose challenges for diagnosis and treatment [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Any significant persistence of confusion beyond a minute or two is critical, as this would suggest a postictal period and seizure. [accessmedicine.mhmedical.com]

[…] unconsciousness is accompanied by myocloni 4.1 Prodromes Nausea Vomiting abdominal sensation of pressure Chills Sweating Blurred vision Aura A syncope can be followed by confusion [flexikon.doccheck.com]

Pneumonia

The clinical history of pneumonia may include one or more of: Pleuritic chest pain Shortness of breath Cough Production of sputum Rigors or night sweats Confusion. [bmj.com]

In elderly people, fever may not be present and new onset of mental confusion is more common. 3 Summary points Pneumonia is common and has high mortality Simple scoring systems [bmj.com]

Urinary Tract Infection

Acute confusion is a common symptom of physical illness in the older patient. In the majority, it is transient and resolves on treatment of precipitants. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Some older adults with a UTI also develop confusion. The tricky part Some of these UTI symptoms are similar to the symptoms of other conditions common in older people. [health.harvard.edu]

[…] lower pelvis Frequent need to urinate Cloudy urine Blood in the urine Foul smelling urine Other symptoms can include painful sexual intercourse, pain in the side and mental confusion [parkview.com]

Chronic Alcoholism

The first had been admitted with confusion and weight loss, the second with hypotension and sepsis, and the third with confusion and hypoglycaemia-induced seizures. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

We report on the case of a 51-year-old man with chronic alcoholism, who suddenly developed visual disturbance and confusion. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Arguments about treating overdoses should not be confused with those about whether there is an alcohol-paracetamol interaction at therapeutic doses. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Crack Ingestion

They may be in a confused and delirious state that requires hospitalization. Death can result if treatment is not prompt. [narconon.org]

Taking a higher dose could lead to confused and disoriented behavior, antisocial behavior, delusions, hallucinations, irritability, fear, paranoia, and even aggressiveness [hiredpower.com]

There may be hallucinations and confusion. The person may think there are bugs crawling on his skin. They may pick and scratch at their skin. [narconon.org]

Stroke

The symptoms of a stroke include sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding speech; sudden trouble [ninds.nih.gov]

Or the symptoms may be confused with those of other conditions that cause similar symptoms. [stanfordhealthcare.org]

Sudden confusion or trouble understanding simple statements. Sudden problems with walking or balance. A sudden, severe headache that is different from past headaches. [stanfordhealthcare.org]

Alcoholic Liver Disease

Acute reversible cerebellar ataxia with confusion secondary to prolonged metronidazole use has been reported rarely as a cause of encephalopathy in patients with ALD. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

[…] that can occur with this disease: Abnormally dark or light skin Agitation Bloody, dark black, or tarry bowel movements ( melena ) Breast development in males Changing mood Confusion [web.archive.org]

[…] membranes, or eyes ( jaundice ) Redness on the palms of the hands In men, impotence, shrinking of the testicles, and breast swelling Easy bruising and abnormal bleeding Confusion [nlm.nih.gov]

Vasovagal Syncope

As soon as there is a slow-down in heart rate, the resulting lack of blood to the brain brings about fainting and confusion. [symptoma.com]

They may complain of symptoms including nausea, abdominal pain, clamminess, tremors, lightheadedness, headache, malaise, exhaustion and confusion. [pccoforegon.com]

[…] presented by vasovagal syncope patients include lightheadedness, nausea, extremely high or extremely low body temperature (often followed by sweating), tinnitus, palpitations, confusion [symptoma.com]

Status Epilepticus

In the first type of NCSE, patients present with confusion or abnormal behavior, suggesting the diagnosis of absence status epilepticus (ASE) or complex partial status epilepticus [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Confused, stuporous, or comatose patients may demonstrate rapid, rhythmic epileptiform discharge on the EEG, as shown here. [jaoa.org]

Meningitis

Other symptoms are nausea, vomiting, inability to look bright lights, confusion, irritability and confusion. In babies, there will be a characteristic high-pitched cry. [symptoma.com]

Symptoms: Severe headache Stiff neck Dislike of bright lights Fever Throwing up repeatedly Severe sleepiness or confusion Rash Remember: Not everyone gets all these symptoms [services.su.nuigalway.ie]

Other symptoms include photophobia, nausea, vomiting, lethargy and confusion. In newborns the typical symptoms are hard to detect. [flexikon.doccheck.com]

Subdural Hematoma

For example, if you see symptoms of confusion, weakness, or numbness weeks or months after a head injury in an older adult, call the provider right away. [pennstatehershey.adam.com]

Headache Lack of energy or confusion Seizures or loss of consciousness Nausea and vomiting Weakness or numbness Vision problems In infants, symptoms may include: Bulging [nlm.nih.gov]

Confusion and headache appears to be the most common presenting features as it is seen in as much as 90% to 56% of cases. [symptoma.com]

Benzodiazepine Overdose

Your speech is slurred, or you are confused. You have trouble walking or moving parts of your body. You feel extremely agitated. [drugs.com]

Low to moderate doses Some of the effects that may be experienced after taking benzodiazepines include: depression confusion feelings of isolation feelings of euphoria memory [mydr.com.au]

In long-term users who have developed dependence, cessation of BZDs can result in a withdrawal syndrome, with manifestations including anxiety, irritability, confusion, seizures [emedicine.medscape.com]

Skull Fracture

[…] caused by MVAs, falls, assault, sports, occupational accidents and other forms of blunt trauma Clinical Headache, bleeding from wounds and orifices, loss of consciousness, confusion [medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com]

A doctor should always be notified if someone has headaches, dizziness, confusion, or any symptoms of a skull fracture following a blow or injury to the skull. [kidshealth.org]

You are confused or you do not know where you are. You are very sleepy or hard to wake up. [myhealth.alberta.ca]

Susac Syndrome

At 1-month follow-up, patient's confusion had resolved. The second patient was a 32-year-old man who had acute onset of confusion. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

He received IVIG and demonstrated resolution of confusion at one-month follow-up. [medicalxpress.com]

Clinical Case SG, a 49-year-old man, presented to the hospital with confusion, dysarthria, expressive aphasia, and progressive gait instability. [the-rheumatologist.org]

Septicemia

In some people, the first signs of sepsis are confusion and rapid breathing. [verywellhealth.com]

There is some confusion though. [surreyfirstaid.com]

Symptoms include chills, high fever, and rapid breathing and heart rate, and it can progress quickly to confusion, altered mental state, and shock. [alabamapublichealth.gov]

Meningoencephalitis

Radiologic findings of necrosis and liquefaction due to hemorrhagic meningoencephalitis may be confused with brain abcess. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

A man, 26years-old, presented fever, mental confusion and a progressively worsening headache 6days prior to admission. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Other symptoms include: sudden fever, headache, vomiting, heightened sensitivity to light, stiff neck and back, confusion and impaired judgment, drowsiness, weak muscles, [ninds.nih.gov]

Plant Poisoning

Toxicity includes gastroenteritis, confusion, hyperkalemia, and arrhythmias. The serum digoxin level can confirm ingestion but is not useful as quantitative information. [merckmanuals.com]

On the second hour after arrival, the patient became confused. It was observed that the chest wall movements had decreased and that the patient had difficulty breathing. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Lily-of-the-Valley Leaves, flowers Irregular heart beat and pulse, usually accompanied by digestive upset and mental confusion. [aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu]