The delirious onyroid syndrome described is an intermediate stage in the development of intoxication, less often infectious or symptomatic psychoses.
Psychopathological changes are manifested in the form of hallucinatory delirium, dizziness with the presence of illusory visions, motor anxiety in the presence of patient self-consciousness.
What is the reason
As mentioned earlier, the disease occurs when one of the psychoses develops. The following causes of the disease are distinguished:
- long-term intake of alcohol (alcohol delirium);
- drug use;
- mental disorder caused by the treatment of infectious diseases;
- endocrine diseases;
- constitutional asthenia;
- severe postpartum period.
In most cases, a sign of the onset of delirious syndrome is somatogenic asthenia, in other words, increased fatigue.
Much less frequently, asthenic syndrome is weak or may be absent altogether.
Asking the question, delirium - what is this condition, you need to know that all manifestations of the disease come gradually. Three main stages are distinguished from them.
First stage
Pathology manifests itself more often at night and is characterized by general excitability.
Of the characteristic features, you can notice the following:
- The speed of reactions, facial expressions and speech increases.
- Patients can speak constantly, the inconsistency and incoherence of what is said is traced in the speech. For example, it can be stories about your past, recent events, about any fantastic images, a set of words or sentences that does not have any logical meaning.
- Frequent sudden movements and disorder of sensations, having various stages. It is expressed in a fear of sharp sounds, bright lighting, excessive perception of taste and smell.
- Difficulty concentrating.
- Changeability of mood. It manifests itself in rapid drops from euphoria, incredible joy to anxiety, anxiety, depression and irritation.
- Physical manifestations occur in the form of severe headache and general weakness.
Disease development
In the second stage, all the symptoms still retain their effect. This stage is characterized by the gradual emergence of hallucinatory visions.
Signs include the following:
- Illusions can be either single or multiple. They can appear in the form of pareidolia (when the usual household things can seem ominous, have claws, teeth, eyes, etc.).
- The periodic occurrence of derealization.
- After a person goes to bed, with his eyes closed, hypnagogic illusions can arise, which are a lot of rapidly changing pictures. With this symptom, the patient receives a diagnosis of hypnagogic delirium.
- In both stages, sleep is characterized by its short duration and intermittence. Often accompanied by nightmares and illusions.
- Upon awakening, derealization is especially pronounced.
Next stage
In the third stage, illusions continue to bother the patient. The appearance of true hallucinations is characteristic. With delirious syndrome, everything that surrounds can become a reason for visions or change under their influence.
By their nature, these kinds of hallucinations can be very diverse in number and mobility, they are colored, transparent, reduced and huge.
Of the frequently noted symptoms:
- Hallucination is added to everyday reality and taken for granted. Illusions that arise are spontaneous or repeated under certain actions or circumstances.
- Due to the difference in delirium, they can be zootic (the patient sees animals) with alcoholic or narcotic delirium.
- Reduced hallucinations occur during intoxication with opiates.
- The patient is most often very interested in the illusion that arises before him. At this moment, he expresses his emotions from what he saw, he can rejoice, get scared, defend himself and so on.
- Often there are auditory, tactile and olfactory hallucinations and, as a result, hallucinatory delirium.
- Speech can partially reflect what is happening in front of the patient, he can scream, say something or make any incoherent sounds.
- There are memory gaps. Moments of exacerbation of the disease and illusion are remembered by the patient only in fragments.
Delirious syndrome is very variable in symptoms and is often limited to only three stages. Periodically lucid intervals may appear (the time when the patient is fully aware of himself, the world around him and his illness).
Some patients show symptoms of only the first and second stages. In case of intoxication with substances such as antifreeze, atropine and tetraethyl lead, the third stage of delirium develops immediately.
What happens delirium
There are a great many types of delirious syndrome. However, it is worth stopping at its often found forms.
Fleeting form
It is also called acute delirium. Symptoms often correspond to the second stage. The duration of the syndrome takes on average about 3-5 days.
Acute delirium occurs with severe poisoning with narcotic substances or is a consequence of alcohol delirium.
Alcohol is to blame
Such delirium occurs against a background of chronic alcoholism. Also, the cause may be the reception of low-quality alcohol liquids. Alcoholic delirium is promoted by previously received traumatic brain injuries, since in this case brain intoxication is faster.
Symptoms of delirium include the following disorders:
- the gradual onset of delirium begins with 2-3 seizures per year;
- the attack lasts from 2 days to a week, less often it can be longer;
- sleep disturbance and nightmares;
- in some patients, a couple of days after giving up alcohol, weakness, a depressed mood, less often auditory illusions are noted;
- there is an acute reaction to external stimuli (light, sound, etc.);
- as the syndrome develops, the patient often has hypnagogic hallucinations, which subsequently cause derealization and depersonalization;
- with the duration of the course of the syndrome, true hallucinations appear, which happen regardless of the time of day or surrounding people;
- lucid intervals periodically occur, but the more delirium develops, the shorter they become with time.
Mussing Delirium
Or, in other words, it is also called quiet delirium. It can be noticed by such signs as:
- slurred speech, quiet murmur;
- coordination is broken, it is difficult for the patient to make any movements;
- more often, with these weak movements, the patient tries to protect himself, as it were (the illusion of crawling spiders throughout the body, feeling himself for integrity, etc.);
- all this happens very sluggishly and, as a rule, the patient does not even move from his place or bed.
Treatment
Delirium syndrome, like any other disease, must be treated as early as possible. No matter what stage the patient is at, hospitalization, medical support and constant medical supervision are often required. This is necessary due to the fact that the patient can be dangerous to others, and can cause self-harm.
Since the nature of the symptoms is variable, the patient often experiences aggression. Finding a home is absolutely impossible, since special rooms with dim lights and fixing straps are needed for treatment.
What are the consequences of delirium?
The third stage of professional and exaggerating delirium, especially when amentia, stunning and constant hallucinations developed, is the most difficult to treat. The complex symptoms described above exacerbate the already complex stage of delirium.
Most likely, the patient will have to maintain his condition. The chances of a full recovery are slim. The remaining types of delirious syndrome, especially before the second stage, although not easy, are treatable. Subsequently, patients return to full recovery and normal life. But all this is only subject to the recommendations of the doctor and the competent treatment of delirious syndrome.