Fortunately, regardless of the cause of your relative’s confusion, in most cases she will return to normal with proper treatment. Immediate medical attention is the key; when medical care is delayed, a person will sometimes recover fully, but her short-term memory may be permanently affected; it seems that the area of the brain that controls short-term memory is extremely fragile and can easily be altered by any physical changes.
If an elderly relative has suddenly become confused, her doctor will do a complete medical history and physical exam and run some blood tests to check for problems that are easy to treat. These include blood sugar that is too high or too low, coronary disease, a sodium-potassium imbalance in the body, which frequently occurs in people who take diuretics, and certain medications, especially Digoxin, which is used to treat cardiac disease, and Dilantin, which is often prescribed to treat seizures. An infection can also cause a person to be confused, whether it is the result of pneumonia, a urinary tract infection, or a skin infection. Your doctor may also take a few X rays and conduct other tests according to the particular symptoms. The diagnosis will dictate the treatment, whether it’s discontinuing a medication, treating an infection, or even buying an air conditioner or filling the oil tank.
*34\167\8*
