Senior Care Blog

Delirium at the End of Your Senior’s Life

Delirium at the end of your elderly family member’s life might be a little difficult to witness, but it’s not unusual.
Hospice Care Flower Mound, TX:Seniors and Delirium
Hospice Care Flower Mound, TX:Seniors and Delirium

One of the issues your elderly family member might face at the end of her life could be delirium. Delirium might come on suddenly for your senior, which can make this a shocking situation to try to help her manage. There may be more than one cause, which can make pinpointing a solution much more difficult. It’s better if you’re not trying to solve these issues completely on your own. 

Delirium Is Common 

Delirium is something that many aging adults go through when they near the end of their lives. It’s a complicated issue and it can be difficult to understand and to witness. Delirium can be brief and infrequent, or it may be longer lasting for your senior. There’s no real way for you to be able to predict delirium before you see the effects. 

Symptoms of Delirium 

Delirium varies from one senior to another. Your elderly family member might start to hallucinate situations or she might be disoriented about where she is and even about time. She may not be conscious, and when she is, she may experience mood swings, loud talking, or no talking at all. She may have trouble sleeping, especially in terms of insomnia or a completely flipped sleep schedule. 

Causes of Delirium 

It’s difficult to fully know what causes or leads to delirium. That’s especially true if your elderly family member isn’t able to communicate with you in a way that you are able to understand. Some medications can contribute to delirium, for example. Lower oxygen levels, fevers, infections, and even simple fear and anxiety can also contribute. Often there is more than one contributing factor, so that makes it even more challenging to find a solution. 

What Can You Do? 

So, what can you do for delirium, especially if you’re not sure what’s causing it? Relying on the experience of hospice elder care providers to help figure this out can be a huge step in the right direction. Often solving small issues, such as dehydration or adjusting medication dosages can start to help. You may not be able to completely reverse delirium, however. 

Because delirium can occur near the very end of your senior’s life, there may not be much that you can do other than simply be there for your senior and let her know you care about her. Having help from hospice elder care providers can be invaluable because of the experience they can share with you. 

If you or an aging loved-one is considering hospice care in Flower Mound, TX please contact the caring staff at Arcy Healthcare today. 469-293-1515 

Jimmie Stapleton

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