This in turn causes increased pressure in the brain, causing further death of brain cells, causing further loss of function, causing further edema. In addition, the edema caused some chemical changes which in turn result in a toxic or poisoning effect on brain cells, thereby destroying additional cells. As various functions are lost, stress is applied to other systems. Loss of movement or of muscle contractions decreases the resistance in the blood vessels of the limbs thereby affecting blood circulation, blood pressure and increasing the workload on the heart. The multiple methods applied by medicine in an attempt to counter the stresses and correct their effects cause stress in themselves.
Intravenous lines require perforation of the skin and a vein, in other words mechanical injury.
Fluids injected directly into the blood stream modify the volume of fluids in the circulatory system in an artificial manner, shifting the normal balance and causing the system to have to work harder. Medications administered are usually chemicals that are not normally in the body, therefore they have to be processed, thereby putting stress on the liver and kidneys. The building blocks of the body start breaking down. Finally, sensory deprivation from lack of stimulation triggers disorientation and emotional stress in the patient who has some awareness, which further trigger catabolism and skin ulceration, placing further stress on the organism leading to further breakdown. The effects of sensory deprivation are overwhelming and only recently have become recognized on the same acute care settings, but are still totally ignored in the majority of long term care settings.