Symptoms and causes of coma

Published: November 8, 2021Last updated: June 14, 2022causes of coma, coma, coma symptoms

Coma means being unconscious for a long time. It is a condition from which a person cannot wake up or his consciousness does not work. People can go into a coma due to various problems. Such as due to a major head injury, stroke, brain tumor, alcohol intoxication, or encephalitis.

Even people with diabetes can go into a coma if their blood glucose levels suddenly become too low (hypoglycemia) or too high (hyperglycemia).

Being in a coma will keep a person’s eyes closed and not be responsive to the environment. The person in the coma will not respond to sound or pain, or will not be able to communicate or move voluntarily, and the reflex of coughing and swallowing will be greatly reduced.

Coma is a medical emergency. Doctors usually order blood tests and brain scans to determine the cause of the coma so that proper treatment can start.

Reasons why people go to coma:

Traumatic brain injury:

Most people go into a coma due to traumatic brain injury. Brain injuries are often caused by accidents. For example, a person falls into a coma when he falls somewhere, especially when he is hit hard on the back of the head or if he is hit in the head in a road accident.

Stroke:

Stroke is caused when the blood supply to the brain is reduced or interrupted or blood clots form, narrowing or obstruction of blood vessels, and blood flow is stopped. People go into a coma because of this stroke.

Tumors:

Many tumors occur inside the brain. Many times the patient has to go into a coma due to this tumor of the brain.

Diabetes:

Many people go into a coma because their blood sugar levels suddenly become too high or too low.

Lack of oxygen:

Most people go into a coma due to a lack of oxygen to the brain or those who have regenerated after a heart attack.

Infections:

Infections such as encephalitis and meningitis cause swelling of the brain, spinal cord, or tissues around the brain. This infection causes damage to the brain. And because of this many patients go into a coma.