My father (85) has had pneumonia for a few days. This morning he seemed confused. He spoke incoherently and looked tensely out the window, as if he saw something I didn’t. An hour later, nothing seemed to be wrong. He lives on his own. Can I still leave him alone?
When an older person is suddenly confused for the first time in their life, it is almost always due to delirium – especially if the person is ill. You test delirium by asking simple questions: where are you, what day is it, what part of the day, what year or season? Testing can also be done by having a simple calculation made. People with delirium are absent, often drop out during a conversation and often sit and pick and wriggle restlessly. They may hallucinate (see, hear, smell or feel things that are not there) and become anxious or emotional. It’s a bit like dreaming while awake. Delirium can come and go at any time. So don’t think: ‘it’s over again’. Not much is known about the causes, but it usually affects older people who are thrown off balance by an illness. The most important thing is that the disease is treated, then the delirium will pass. A drug against psychosis helps with that. You must contact the GP and together make a plan for the coming period. You cannot leave someone with delirium alone.
