Thanks for sharing your experience! I found this information really interesting. If you're looking for more resources on the topic of hospital delirium, here's a helpful article: https://anthemhomecare.com/delirium-in-the-hospital/

Very interesting and informative responses.

I would like to agree that most changes especially change of environment to people with dementia may cause acute confusional states, more so if the environment is not purpose built with people with dementia in mind. Even a change in daily routine, or lay out of a room, different colour room or changes in care staff may disorientate a person with dementia whether old or young onset dementia. This is the more reasons for hospitals and care homes to be built in dementia friendly ways and for the care of the elderly to take all the points mentioned by all into consideration if the elderly and those with dementia are to get good quality care.

I would expect acute confusional states caused by infections such as UTIs chest infections etc with or without hallucinations or delusions to respond to antibiotics ,good quality care and very small doses of calming down medications. I agree that the elderly my suffer acute confusional states during or following hospital admission and that with good quality care this should not be a cause fo long term cognitive impairment.

Carolif...what does coconut oil do for a person with dementia?

jeanniegibbs,
it makes ZERO sense that you would develop any type of hallucinations or dementia from being in the hospital unless you were under heavy drugs, had a bad infection, or a LACK OF OXYGEN. simply being in a hospital no matter what your age should never cause this.
When I stay a week in a hotel I don't go dippy.
My 78 year old mother does not go dippy if in a hotel for a week.

There is something going on in hospitals.

For my dad I know for a fact thjey gave him Tylenol PM, Haldol, Muscle Relaxers, etc... all things that he cannot take. And as these things made him more nuts they gave him more.

They thought he was a crazy person all the time so they just kept drugging him no matter how many times I told them NO he was NORMAL before this.

And it all started with the nursing home dosing him with Cough medicine at least twice a day..... making him more and more nuts.. and they never told me.

It is heartbreaking what has happened because of that cough medicine. Something he'd never have taken in his own home.

I can tell you from experience, it does happen. My 85 yr old Mother went into the hospital for minor surgery, trigger finger release, they did not do a block, they used general anesthesia. That was the last time I saw my mother. Someone entirely different came out of surgery that day. Different personality, behavior, reasoning skills, memory, etc. you name it, this 15 minute surgery changed the entire structure of our family. In the last 6 months she has gone from bad to worse. Had we only known BEFORE the surgery........... famous last words. Word needs to get out about the possibilities of this happening to anyone, especially elders. I for one haven't shut up about it since it happened and never will. Such a tragedy.

This is a very informative article (thank you) and raises more questions than it may answer. I am in agreement that over medication is a HUGE problem in our society, and hospitalization is traumatic in and of itself, but add new powerful drugs to that situation and it can be a recipe for disaster.

This is what I feel happened to my mother as well. An upsetting episode at home with the caregiver and others resulting in my mother being hospitalized on the Baker's Act, for observation for 72 hours! My mother was NEVER the same again. Medications that would have levelled a HORSE were given to an 89 yr old 94 pound female, and it had dire DIRE consequences.

I will be looking at the books that you mentioned Jeanne, even though my mother has passed, I am still learning. I am VERY leary of hospitalization for 'observation' unless ALL precautions are taken.

A study IS necessary to learn all we can about the impact hospitals have on ALL humans. I agree that they are necessary, but unless you are properly cared for, the necessity can add to the distress.

I'm sure you are right, Jeannie. Without an operation Bruce would have died. But then again, if he hadn't taken the coated aspirin the Doctor ordered, he wouldn't have had such a problem with bleeding gums and if he hadn't had a problem with bleeding, he probably wouldn't have gotten endocarditis and wouldn't have ruined his aorta valve, and wouldn't have needed a cow valve. If, on the other hand, I had learned the true meaning of a good diet, and had not paid attention to the government's definition, he probably never would have had all the sweets cravings that landed him with diabetics, and would never have been put on all the meds that were slowly killing him. Now on a high fat (coconut oil) diet, those cravings are way down. So, yes, doctors and hospitals are important, but to my way of thinking, not as important as knowing the truth about what we should be feeding our bodies.

It is true that hospitals need improvement, especially in the care of the elderly and persons with dementia. An excellent book on specific changes that could be made, and examples of hospitals that are trying them is Improving Hospital Care for Persons with Dementia by by Gerald Flaherty, Terri Tobin PhD and Nina M. Silverstein PhD.

No doubt many people, especially the elderly, are overmedicated. A good book that addresses that and related issues is My Mother, Your Mother: Embracing "Slow Medicine," the Compassionate Approach to Caring for Your Aging Loved Ones by Dennis McCullough.

But let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater, please.

Sometimes medical intervention is life-saving, or quality-of-life-saving. Sometimes a drug is exactly what is needed. Often pharacuetical research, whether motivated by greed or humanitarian concerns, yeilds a near miracle for many. If it weren't for my traumatic ICU stay, I simply would not be alive now. That kind of puts things into perspective for me.

Room for improvement? Oh my goodness, yes! Totally bad? Gee, I don't think so.

From cradle to grave - just drug everybody so they are easier to handle.
It is very sad and indeed traumatizing for the patient and their loved ones.
I don't know if and what one can do, though, because even if you stay as much as possible with the patient, as well as , educate yourself, there are times you simply are not in the loop and many a hospital worker, be it doctor, nurse, or orderly, will bypass you and do their "thing". And if you protest they treat you as if you, too need medication and be committed.

That's why I do my best to stay educated and involved in my personal health to stay well in he attempt to never need a doctor. Of course that does not help with others who do need a doctor.

I know what you mean about being traumatized. I was horrified. He had lost his mind and no one seemed to notice or care. This made it even worse for me, but I guess they were so used to it that it just seemed normal to them.
They hire "constants" to sit and keep a watch on them in case they try to do something crazy.

It is so widespread and so consistent. It seems like our medical community has just come to expect that anyone over 65 is going to have dementia. They don't even seem to mind. The first time it happened to my dad I was traumatized worst than he was. The nurses could not manage him so they drugged him more.

This person was not even my dad. I was alone and thought my dad had lost his mind because he was acting CRAZY. After I asked for the 100th time WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DAD (he was 73 at the time) They said "sometimes old people just get psychotic in hospitals)

Something is going on because you do not get psychotic just because you are over 65 and go in for test. Yet the nurses and doctors just seem to think it is peachy.

I thought I was the only one who thought this. My father's mental state declined after he had surgery. It was so obvious, the family noticed it too. I totally believe it was the type of anesthetic that was used. He's had more surgeries and with every one his cognitive abilities decline. Does this happen with younger people also, but it's just not a s noticeable ?? A serious study should be done.

My father is deaf, 87, and his dementia is an on-going, growing issue. He lives in our guest house and eats meals with us and spends his days in and out of our home. We are the pentultimate experts on his behavioir and how he feels. Each hospital stay has deminished his ability to think, focus or remember. After his last 2 day stay which was predicated by the Dr. saying that "he needs to be kept under observation" my Dad didn't recognize my sister (always his favorite) and was unsure that I, indeed was me. It was terrifying. He never has really returned to baseline after a hospital trip. Thus, we infomed his drs. that we will no longer send him to their tender mercies for "observation" or "just to be safe." Did I mention he has great insurance above and beyond Medicare. I guess my point is-this is not a help to quality of life. Our elders has so much taken away in the way of dignity and their ability to do the tasks we all take so readily for granted. Why has the medical community failed to recognize the damage they do under the auspices of care?

Carol, this is very interesting. Thank you for it.

At age 58 I was hospitalized through ER and was in ICU for 3 days, and spent 2 more days in hosital before I was discharged. That is the only experience in my life of hallucinating and delusions. ICU is an alien environment no matter what your age. I later read about "ICU Delirium" -- it is common enough that there is a name for it and studies about it.

I did recover fully (at least I like to think I did -- no more delusions) and I guess it was an interesting little peek at what my husband and other people with dementia go through.

The two times since he developed dementia that my husband has been hospitalized he recovered from the original condition (bleeding ulcers, pneumonia) within days. It took months to recover from the hospitalization experience.

My husband had endocarditis which caused infected blood to go through his system. It started affecting his brain a bit. Then it ate his heart valve and the doctor said he had to have open heart surgery. I expected the problems with the brain to go away after surgery. I was never told that a large percentage of people going through this operation get dementia and many never recover.
When he came out of surgery they wouldn't let me see him for several hours. When I finally saw him I was shocked. After the second day I started crying because he wasn't normal. The nurse coldly told me I had signed papers saying that I had been informed there would be risks. I realized that her main concern was liability. My husband and I had agreed before surgery that whether he lived or died it would be OK, but we had never discussed the possibility of loosing his cognitive skills.
The heart specialist was happy that Bruce was alive, and didn't even seem to notice the fact that he was mentally out of it. The geriatric doctor finally came to see me and she told me that he would never recover.
Thank God she was wrong. If he had continued to follow the doctor's orders he wouldn't have, but I eventually found out about coconut oil and now he is well. He later got endocarditis again after pushing himself too hard and had to go back to the hospital for a few days, but this time I took him his meals including coconut oil, and he did fine.

We saw this firsthand with my aunt - she was never the same and had to go into a nursing home. So when my mother had surgery, we talked to the doctor and surgical support about it, and they gave her a different anesthesia. She had some confusion the first day but was joking with the nurses the next morning. When you go for pre op, be sure and mention any concerns with the nursing staff and surgery team. Also the drugs given after surgery for pain can have an unintended effect on older people.

Even the best hospitals and nursing homes are very poor places for people to be. The nurses are constantly changing, the new ones don't know the patients, they make multiple mistakes if you are not there to watch your loved one, especially if the loved one is on a lot of medications in the first place.
I've come into the hospital room for both my MIL and my dad when they were weak or out of it... and they don't even feed them! YOU have to be there to do that. This is 3 different hospitals... the cafeteria people are very good about checking what diet, what they like, etc.. but then a cafeteria person DROPS OFF THE FOOD, next to a drugged or sleeping patient and then comes back and gets it in an hour or two... CRAZY.
I started staying with my dad and MIL and feeding them.
It is shocking that hospital personnel do not even note what or if they eat. I guess they do note it but it is a lie.

I sat with my dad from 10 am - 1 pm one day and during that time only a cafeteria person came in. he was sleeping and out of it. No one knew I was there and no one came in to check on him the entire time except a person with a cart dropping off food and picking it up.

My sister-in-law as FURIOUS when she walked into her mothers room 2 days in a row at noon to find cold covered food and her mom asleep or out of it.

The "nursing" staff said family had to be there to make sure they ate.

God only knows what happens to people in hospitals. Educate yourself on your loved ones medications, conditions, and post HUGE notes in their room if they are allergic to anything.

I have gotten hospital records after my dads stays and you would not believe the outright fabrications and misunderstandings written in those NOTES!

My dad is blind and one doctor who visited 3 times in 2 weeks wrote how confused he was and how he did not know who she was after 3 days. LOL She visited 3 minutes, 3 days in a row when he was sick and sleeping/awake. and expected a blind man to know her???

She wrote this up as confusion and dementia? We told them OVER AND OVER he could not see. Finally on the 5th day as he was recovering a speech analysis person came out of his room and said... did you know your dad cannot see.

OMG- but his records do not reflect this ... it reflects from nurses on to that goofy doctor that he could not recognize them and was confused. (this was years ago when he was admitted for low blood sugar and insulin corrections.)

EVERYONE be careful. Hospital personnel are stretched thin, don't care anymore, tired, and just plain not very good.

I never knew there were so many elderly disabled after hospitalization.
Hospitals need to focus on people and not saving a buck.
Maybe some of it is damage from septicemia.

My dad was hospitalized for "change in mental condition" from the nursing home. The change in mental condition was initially caused by ONGOING cough medicine the nursing home was giving him and none of us knew! Not even the ER people. MY DAD cannot take anything like that. - At the hospital over the week it got much worse as they did test and even gave him Haldol.... it was a nightmare.
He did not recover and went from being so so mentally to practically uncommunicative as the nursing home doctor began treating him for alzheimers / dementia with various medications AND giving vicodin for "pain".
This went on for over a year and caused some physical injuries to my dad which then had to be treated at a VA Hospital,,,, FINALLY after a year and a half.. he went to a good non-VA hospital with me there every day and night keeping them from drugging him. He had a bad bone infection from injuries sustained at the nursing home....
AFTER 8 weeks on a very strong ANTI-BIOTIC series IV and pill form... MY DAD IS NORMAL mentally again!

This all started after being administered cough medication several times a day for a very minor cough and even after he fell and we "the family" kept saying "SOMETHING must have changed with his medications" NO, no change... apparently cough medication is "no change"

I think he then got some infection at the hospital causing the mental decline. They had done many test and even a spinal (when it was the cough medications, OMG)... but during all that happened to him during that stay... he was demented for a year and half and diagnosed alzheimers... until a strong antibiotic course now has gotten me my dad back... physically mained by mentally normal.

Health Insurance? I don't even want any. I want to stay away from hospitals.

I wrote an article on Hospitalization for Seniors. http://ontarioseniors.blogspot.com/2009/03/hospitalization-for-seniors.html
There are things one can do.
Also, one must know the difference between dementia and delirium caused by infections or drugs,

There is a "convenience" factor with hospital food (in general). I would think smoothies for people who don't eat well would be a very good way to go. Things are improving, but nutrition is certainly one important place where more can be done.

One of the biggest problems in hospitalization, I see, is the nutrition patients get. You should think that with all the so called "nutritionists" let loose in care facilities, they'd have a better grip on important nutrition, such as raw foods, leafy greens in form of smoothies. But no, its all dead food.

I wouldn't be surprised if some do let pets visit - but that would be only in certain environments. Nursing homes have long welcomed pets. They can be very therapeutic for many elders. Whatever we do, we need to keep hospitalization of elders to times when there really is no other choice. For that matter - the same goes for us!
Take care,
Carol

Hospitals are certainly not the bastions of well-being they purport themselves to be. The environment can be disorienting and overwhelming to even the most stable of seniors - imagine how much of a calamity it turns into for the severely ailing. Your suggestions for making the hospital room more homelike are on point and wonderful. Don't some hospitals allow pet visits as well? I feel like I read that somewhere.