What Should I Do if I Think My Loved One Is Having Delirium in the Hospital?
If you think your loved one is showing signs of delirium, bring it to a nurse's attention immediately. It's better not to wait until the next time you might catch the doctor making rounds.
Because you know what's normal behavior (or, in the case of someone with dementia, a normal level of confusion) for your loved one, you're in the best position to recognize a change from these norms. Hospital staff don't know the patient as well as you do. They tend to write off certain unusual behaviors as "just the dementia" in any older person, whether or not he or she has Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia.
Getting quick treatment of delirium is important to minimize damage to cognition and to speed healing and the ability to participate in physical therapy or other treatments.
