Final answer:
Hypoxia is characterized by an inadequate oxygen supply, with early signs in adults including confusion and restlessness, while late signs can involve seizures and cyanosis. Conditions such as infant respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants and carbon monoxide poisoning can lead to hypoxia and require oxygen treatment.
Step-by-step explanation:
Early and Late Signs of Hypoxia in Adults
Hypoxia, a condition characterized by an inadequate supply of oxygen to the body’s tissues, manifests in various signs and symptoms. Early signs of hypoxia can include symptoms such as temperature instability, apnea (cessation of breathing), bradycardia (slow heart rate), hypotension, difficulty feeding, irritability, and limpness. For adults, early signs may also encompass subtle changes like mild confusion or restlessness. Late signs, indicating more severe hypoxia, can involve more serious neurological symptoms such as seizures, a bulging fontanel (in infants), stiff neck, hemiparesis (weakness on one side of the body), and opisthotonos (rigid body with arched back and head thrown backward). In addition to the neurological changes, symptoms like cyanosis (bluish discoloration of the skin due to a lack of oxygen) may also be observed.
In certain conditions such as infant respiratory distress syndrome, which occurs in premature infants due to insufficient levels of surfactant, hypoxia can become a critical concern requiring immediate intervention like supplemental oxygen. Similarly, carbon monoxide poisoning should be addressed promptly since it can lead to hypoxia and requires treatment with oxygen to restore normal levels of carboxyhemoglobin to hemoglobin.