Stupor and Coma
Medical problems that affect your brain often keep you from being wide awake and thinking clearly. You may be affected only a little or a whole lot, ranging from being:
What is stupor?
What is a coma?
What causes stupor or coma?
Causes of stupor and coma are very similar, and include:
Bodywide problems such as
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Poisons, such as carbon monoxide
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Alcohol or drugs such as opioids
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Very low blood sugar or very high blood sugar levels
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Liver failure
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Kidney failure
Brain problems, such as
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Head injury
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A severe brain infection, such as meningitis
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Stroke
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Low blood flow to the brain, such as in people who had cardiac arrest
What are the symptoms of stupor or coma?
How can doctors tell if a person is in a stupor or coma?
How do doctors treat stupor and coma?
People need to be in the hospital, usually in intensive care. They often need:
Doctors will treat what caused the stupor or coma. Treatments may include:
Patients who remain in a coma require supportive care, such as:
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A feeding tube for water and food
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Frequently turning the person's body to prevent pressure sores and blood clots
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Frequently moving the person's arms and legs to prevent stiffening of muscles (contractures)
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A tube (catheter) in the bladder to drain urine
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Eye drops to keep the person's eyes from drying out
How people do depends on what caused the coma. Some problems go away, and the person recovers completely. Other people wake up but have some brain damage and don't return to normal. People who have severe brain damage may stay in a coma. A few enter into a vegetative state.
