What is the difference between delirium and dementia

Videos Figures Images Quizzes Symptoms. Courtesy of. Delirium and Dementia. Test your knowledge. A patient experiences a seizure in which tingling and numbness occur in her left leg. Dysfunction in which of the following lobes of the brain is most likely responsible for this finding? More Content. Click here for Patient Education. Delirium affects mainly attention. Thinking and speech may be confused, illogical, unclear, and unpredictable. This process occurs over years and usually progresses slowly.

At first, a person may sometimes be forgetful or confused. Questions will be asked over and over. Basic information may be forgotten. Over time, he or she will have trouble following directions and doing daily tasks.

The person will have trouble talking with and understanding others. Eventually, a person with dementia may forget who people are and not know where he or she is. The person may also be moody or restless. Signs include forgetfulness and confusion. The person will have trouble speaking with and understanding others. This occurs over long periods of time. The person may often seem confused. As the disease worsens, the person will not be able to focus well.

He or she will often not be able to talk with or understand others clearly. The person will not be able to remember events that just happened, and lose memory of events in the past.

The person may not remember who people are, or where they are. The person may not recognize common objects. The person may be confused and disoriented. This condition is more likely to be hereditary and is devastating to both the patients and their family as the patient is usually still in the productive years of his or her life. It typically occurs over a few hours to days and has an underlying medical cause. Another feature of delirium is a fluctuation in consciousness levels, with periods of drowsiness alternating with periods of hyper-vigilance.

In some cases, it may take up to six months for the patient to fully recover. Read on to learn about the symptoms of dementia and how it impacts behaviour.

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