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My 85 year old father in-law was admitted to the hosptital ...

Sent to Health Experts January 16, 2006 6:30 p.m.

My 85 year old father in-law was admitted to the hosptital 10 days ago with pnemonia and congestive heart failure. He has developed what the nurses are calling "sundowners syndrome". Could you explain this problem to us and what the likely reasons for it would be. He doesn't have alzheimers or has not shown signs of dementia until this started a few days ago. Since this has started he has talked about getting his shoes to go home and relatives that have died many years ago as if they are still alive. His short term memory seems impaired. Thank you for your help.

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Status: Closed Value: $8

Answer
January 16, 2006 6:44 p.m. (14 minutes and 14 seconds later)

ACCEPTED

Sundowners syndrome is usually reserved for those with dementia. This means that when the sun starts to go down, they tend to get more anxious and confused.

My guess is that your family member has more what is called ICU-itis. This is another slang term used in hospitals.

When the elderly are hospitalized they sometimes get confused, or what is technically termed delerium. Usually, if the person was fine before being hospitalized, this is reversable.

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Reply to Kerry
Sent January 16, 2006 8:05 p.m. (1 hour and 20 minutes later)

I am not satisfied with the answer given. I was hoping for more detailed information. It did not give me anymore insight than what I had already had. It appeared to be a rather off the cuff answer. The ICU-itis guess, with very little explanation wasn't very helpful either. I guess I will have to do more research on my own. I did appreciate the quick response though. Was it worth $8 to me? I'd have to say definitely no. Will I be charged the $8 deposit I made?

Edited by Customer (name blocked for privacy) on January 16 2006 at 8:13pm

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

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