Final answer:
Worsening hypoxia due to nerve injuries can manifest as visual disturbances, muscle weakness, impaired coordination and balance, numbness, and cognitive dysfunction. Acute symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, photophobia, stiff neck, and confusion. Infants with hypoxia may show a range of symptoms from difficulty feeding to seizures.
Step-by-step explanation:
Signs of worsening hypoxia in the context of nerve injuries include a range of neurological symptoms. Patients may experience visual disturbances, muscle weakness, and impaired coordination and balance, which could indicate deteriorating neurological function due to oxygen deprivation. Furthermore, numbness and a or "pins and needles" sensation may also occur, demonstrating peripheral nerve damage. Other severe signs can include impaired cognitive function and memory, which suggest that the brain is not receiving adequate oxygenation.
In the context of acute damage, symptoms like nausea, vomiting, photophobia (sensitivity to light), stiff neck, and confusion are particularly concerning and might indicate serious complications such as increased intracranial pressure or the onset of a stroke.
If the affected individual is a newborn or an infant, early signs of hypoxia can present as temperature instability, apnea, bradycardia, hypotension, and difficulty feeding. Late-onset symptoms in this age group are more likely to include seizures, a bulging fontanel, hemiparesis, and opisthotonos, and such conditions can often be fatal.