Confusion

Confusion describes a state of being unsure of time, place and identity – a confused person is not sure of the time or day, where they are, and who they are.

There are a great many causes for confusion but the most common are:

Alcohol and drug intoxication
Psychosis (a psychiatric condition characterised by being out-of-touch with reality)
Fever (hyperthermia) – usually as a part of an infective illness like ‘flu
Low body temperature (hypothermia)
Low blood sugar (e.g. starvation or diabetes)
Diabetic comas (either low or high blood sugar type)
Head injury
Epilepsy (confusion is common for some time after a seizure)
Stroke (often in association with weakness or paralysis)
Hypoxia (low levels of oxygen, often due to lung or heart conditions)
Medications (several medications can cause confusion)
Alzheimer’s disease (usually a gradual onset with associated memory loss)
Certain nutritional deficiencies (especially vitamin B deficiencies)

Your doctor will often need the help of family and friends when assessing a confused person. It is important to decide if the diagnosis is physical or psychological. She will perform a detailed physical examination (as well as checking blood sugar and performing a simple urine “dipstix’ test) and may request some tests, including:

CT scan of the head/brain – an advanced computer-assisted X-ray technique that creates detailed images of the head and brain.
Blood tests that check for alcohol or drug levels.