What Is Coma and What Treatment Is Given For Coma?

A coma is a condition of total unconsciousness, equivalent to serious sleep, but the patient cannot generally wake up or react to their surroundings. A patient’s status of consciousness and reaction depends on how their brain operates. A coma can last from a few days to a rare weeks, and the outcome depends on the cause and extent of the brain injury. If a patient enters a coma behind medical or traumatic circumstances, it is medical trouble. Doctors may need to act fast to keep their life and brain functioning. This article explains what a coma is and its possible causes. It also explains what happens during a coma, potential problems, and how doctors treat it.

What Is A Coma?

A coma is a state of full unconsciousness. The outcome of a coma depends on the cause and severity of the damage the patient has sustained or the condition they have been diagnosed. Sometimes, doctors put a patient in a coma with medication. For example, this may be done to protect the patient from severe pain during therapy for coma patients or to maintain advanced brain function after a brain injury. However, a patient’s symptoms may not change for some time in severe cases. Doctors may reclassify the patient as a determined vegetative state. If the condition continues for months, the patient may not recover.

Alertness of the Patients

Alertness is the state of being most conscious and the state of being least unconscious. This scale helps medical professionals assess whether the event is likely an emergency. If the patient is fully conscious, there is no risk of a coma. People who experience this should try to remember what happened before the coma began. This information can help doctors identify the underlying cause and help them determine the appropriate course of physical therapy after coma. Unconscious people can be at risk of asphyxiation. They may need medical assistance to maintain an airway and ensure that they continue to breathe. 

What Happens During a Coma?

Since comatose patients cannot communicate, Diagnosis is therefore based on external signs, including:

• Eyes closed
• Unresponsive or involuntary limb movements, except for reflexive movements
• Unresponsive to painful stimuli, except for reflexive movements

How Long Do These Symptoms Take To Appear?

Before entering a coma, a person with a progressively low blood sugar level, called diabetic shock or a high level of carbon dioxide in the blood, is called hyperammonemia. This may be the first experience of headaches, irritability, and slurred speech. If left untreated, the ability to think clearly will gradually decline, leading to loss of consciousness.  If a coma is caused by a severe brain injury or subarachnoid hemorrhage, these symptoms may appear suddenly.

Treatment

A coma is often a serious medical emergency. Medical professionals will begin with immediate life-saving care, including maintaining breathing and circulation to ensure the brain is oxygenated. Treatment options may include:

• Glucose, even if blood test results are not available, in cases where the patient is in diabetic shock or has a brain infection.
• A drug called naloxone can cause coma if the intoxication is severe.
• Vitamin B1, if the patient is suffering from alcohol use disorders, may be deficient in this vitamin.

In all cases, the doctor should keep the patient’s blood pressure healthy and maintain breathing by protecting the airway.