Medication
Sep 14, 2020 · Treatment for a coma depends on the cause. People close to the comatose patient should give doctors as much information as possible to …
Therapy
Sep 09, 2019 · Once out of a coma, which typically lasts for around 1-4 weeks (in severe cases months or even years) patients need to act quickly to recover from this devastating experience. Physical therapy is a crucial way for individuals who have gone through a coma to improve their motor skills and stimulate brain function.
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Jan 30, 2019 · Coma cannot be easily predicted when a person is in coma since everyone is different. The best option is to consult a doctor. The prognosis will get worse when the person remains in coma. After so many weeks in coma condition a person may recover but may have or suffer due to significant disabilities.
How do I treat a coma?
In appropriate cases, the attending physician may terminate treatment or preclude some or all future treatment with an appropriate written order when the patient is not dead. B. In making decisions about withholding or withdrawing treatment, the competent patient's wishes must be identified and documented by the medical staff.
How long does a coma last?
Mar 29, 2022 · A coma is a deep state of unconsciousness that can result from an injury or illness. In some cases, it lasts for just a few days, but in others, the person does not wake up.
What are the benefits of physical therapy in a coma?
Nov 01, 2019 · Medication may also be given to stop seizures if necessary.In general, treatment for a coma is supportive. People in comas are looked after in an intensive care unit and may often require full life support until their situation improves.Sometimes the cause of a coma can be completely reversed and the affected person will regain normal function.
How are people in comas looked after?
Coma is a state of consciousness that is similar to deep sleep, except no amount of external stimuli (such as sounds or sensations) can prompt the brain to become awake and alert. A person in a coma can’t even respond to pain. A wide range of illnesses, conditions and events can cause coma. Coma occurs when there is a serious problem with the ...
What to do if you are in a coma?
If you are with a person who develops signs and symptoms of a coma, call 911 or your local emergency number immediately . When you arrive at the hospital, emergency room staff will need as much information as possible from family and friends about what happened to the affected person before the coma.
How to know if you are in a coma?
Speaking loudly or pressing on the angle of the jaw or nail bed while watching for signs of arousal, such as vocal noises, eyes opening or movement. Testing reflexive eye movements to help determine the cause of the coma and the location of brain damage.
Why do doctors need to rely on physical clues?
Because people in a coma can't express themselves , doctors must rely on physical clues and information provided by families and friends. Be prepared to provide information about the affected person, including: Details about how the affected person lost consciousness, including whether it occurred suddenly or over time.
What is the test for seizures?
Electroencephalography (EEG). This measures the electrical activity inside the brain through small electrodes attached to the scalp. Doctors send a low electrical current through the electrodes, which record the brain's electrical impulses. This test can determine if seizures might be the cause of a coma.
How to diagnose a coma?
Checking the affected person's movements and reflexes, response to painful stimuli, and pupil size. Observing breathing patterns to help diagnose the cause of the coma. Checking the skin for signs of bruises due to trauma.
Can a coma be reversed?
Other treatments might focus on medications or therapies to address an underlying disease, such as diabetes or liver disease. Sometimes the cause of a coma can be completely reversed, and the affected person will regain normal function. Recovery usually occurs gradually.
What is a coma in medical terms?
A coma is a medical emergency. Doctors will first check the affected person's airway and help maintain breathing and circulation. Doctors might give breathing assistance, intravenous medications and other supportive care. Treatment varies, depending on the cause of the coma.
How long does it take to recover from a coma?
Once out of a coma, which typically lasts for around 1-4 weeks (in severe cases months or even years) patients need to act quickly to recover from this devastating experience. Physical therapy is a crucial way for individuals who have gone through a coma to improve their motor skills and stimulate brain function.
What happens when you go into a coma?
When a person emerges out of a coma, physical therapy is an instrumental segment on the road to recovery. A person who is in a coma is alive, but they are unable to interact and respond to the environment around them. Medically, it is described as a prolonged period of unconsciousness. This type of state derives from an underlying disease or sickness, but most of the time people go into a coma from brain injuries. Other causes of a coma may include some of the following: 1 Strokes. 2 Seizures. 3 Hypoxia. 4 Hypoglycemia.
What causes a person to go into a coma?
Other causes of a coma may include some of the following: Strokes. Seizures.
What is the role of physical therapy in recovery?
Physical therapy has long been overlooked for the role it plays in rehabilitating individuals who have experienced a life-altering brain injury and other disorders of consciousness (DOC). Recovering from a DOC means that the individual is finally aware of their environment and can interact with it.
How to help a patient come out of a coma?
Correction of electrolyte imbalance or toxic substances can help the patient come out of coma or comatose sometimes. Electrolytes are chemicals commonly like salts, such as chlorine and sodium salts, which can be found in the tissues and blood throughout the body and play a major role in most of the physiological mechanism. Depending on the reason of the coma or comatose, there may be necessity to correct any electrolyte abnormalities. For example a kidney dialysis which is a process that maintains normal electrolyte balance in the kidneys and removes toxins.
How long does a coma last?
A coma or comatose usually can last for few weeks, during which time the patient may recover slowly by gaining consciousness, gradual wakeup or the patient can progress into a different state of unconsciousness which is known as vegetative state or minimally conscious state.
What is a coma cocktail?
Coma cocktail is a combined mixture of glucose (glucose can help diabetic patients with low blood sugar), naloxone (Naloxone is a chemical which is used in treating the patients who are overdosed) and thiamin (thiamin is a vitamin combination which helps who are deprived of nutrition, e.g. alcoholics).
Can a coma be reversed?
Other treatments may include focus on therapies or medications for addressing a disease that is underlying, such as liver disease or diabetes. The reason of the coma or comatose may be completely reversed sometimes and person affected will regain to the normal function.
What is the Glasgow Coma Scale?
Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is used before the decision making stage whether to use CT scan for coma or comatose. Severity of brain damage can be analyzed by the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) which helps doctors in case of a head injury. It scores patients according to, motor responses, how easily they open their eyes and verbal responses.
Can a person recover from a coma?
Coma cannot be easily predicted when a person is in coma since everyone is different. The best option is to consult a doctor. The prognosis will get worse when the person remains in coma. After so many weeks in coma condition a person may recover but may have or suffer due to significant disabilities.
What is a coma score?
Coma is the output when the score is 8 or less. Moderate is the condition when the score is ranging between 9 and 12. Minor when the score is 13 or higher. Even a person who is awaken is said to be in coma (lighter coma) when the score is high as specified above as there is no response to the surrounding situations.
What is Coma?
Coma is also known as blackout, insensibility, knockout, swim, swoon, syncope. A coma is a prolonged state of unconsciousness. During a coma, a person is unresponsive to his or her environment. The person is alive and looks like he or she is sleeping.
How is the treatment done?
A coma is a serious medical emergency.Health professionals will start by ensuring the immediate survival of the patient and securing their breathing and circulation to maximize the amount of oxygen that reaches the brain.A doctor may administer glucose or antibiotics even before the results of blood tests are ready, in case the patient is in diabetic shock or has a brain infection.Treatment will depend on the underlying cause of the coma, for example, kidney failure, liver disease, diabetes, poisoning, and so on.If there is brain swelling, surgery may be needed to relieve the pressure.A coma is a medical emergency.
Are there any side effects?
Although many people gradually recover from a coma, others enter a vegetative state or die.
How long does it take to recover?
The chances of a person's recovery depend on the cause of the coma, whether the problem can be corrected, and the duration of the coma. If the problem can be resolved, the person can often return to his or her original level of functioning.
Are the results of the treatment permanent?
It can be very difficult to predict recovery when a person is a coma. If the cause of the coma can be successfully treated, the person may eventually awaken with no permanent damage.They are likely to be confused at first, but then they usually remember what happened before the coma, and be able to continue their life.
What is an ICU patient?
Clinicians in the intensive care unit (ICU) often care for patients who are on several life support measures at once. When such a patient is dying and the decision is reached to withdraw life support, these clinicians may make an imperfect compromise in seeking to balance the complex needs of the patient and the patient’s family — they may remove the life support measures one at a time over a period of days, rather than withdrawing all at once.
What is the NIH?
NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov. NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®.
What is NINR research?
NINR supports basic and clinical research that develops the knowledge to build the scientific foundation for clinical practice, prevent disease and disability, manage and eliminate symptoms caused by illness, and enhance end-of-life and palliative care.
