GCS (glasgow coma scale) is a scale used to determine the level of consciousness. In the past, this scale was used on people with head injuries. However, nowadays, GCS is also used to assess a person's level of consciousness when providing emergency medical assistance.
A person's level of consciousness can generally be assessed from three aspects, namely the eyes (the ability to open the eyes), the voice (the ability to speak), and body movements. These three aspects are assessed through observation, then added up to get the GCS score.
However, before discussing further how to determine the level of consciousness with GCS, there are several causes of a person's decreased level of consciousness that you need to know.
Causes of a Person's Lower Level of Consciousness
The brain is the main organ responsible for maintaining consciousness. In order to work properly, the brain requires adequate intake of oxygen and glucose.
Consumption of alcoholic beverages and certain drugs, such as sedatives, painkillers, epilepsy drugs, or stroke medications, can cause a decrease in level of consciousness and cause drowsiness.
Meanwhile, consumption of beverages such as coffee, chocolate, tea, and energy drinks that contain caffeine, have a stimulant effect on the brain that can actually make you more awake.
In addition, there are several medical conditions that can also cause loss of consciousness, namely:
- Dementia
- Severe head injury
- Shock
- Heart disease
- liver disease
- Kidney failure
- Hypoglycemia
- stroke
Some of the conditions above can damage brain cells, thus affecting a person's consciousness. The decrease in the level of consciousness is the worst when a person goes into a coma.
How to Measure Awareness Level
The highest level of consciousness is on a scale of 15, while the lowest level of consciousness or coma can be said to be on a scale of 3. So, to find out the scale, how to measure the level of consciousness with the GCS scale is as follows:
Eye
The following is an eye examination guide to determine the GCS score:
- Point 1: the eye does not react and remains closed even though it has been given a stimulus, such as a pinch of the eye.
- Point 2: eyes open after receiving stimulation.
- Point 3: eyes open only by hearing sound or can follow commands to open eyes.
- Point 4: eyes open spontaneously without command or touch.
Voice
For voice response checks, the guidelines for determining the GCS value are as follows:
- Point 1: does not make the slightest sound even though it has been called or stimulated.
- Point 2: the sound that comes out is a moan without words.
- Point 3: the voice sounds indistinct or only makes words, but not clear sentences.
- Point 4: the voice is heard and able to answer the question, but the person seems confused or the conversation is not fluent.
- Point 5: the voice is heard and able to answer all the questions asked correctly and is fully aware of the location, interlocutor, place, and time.
Movement
The guidelines for determining the GCS score for movement response checks are as follows:
- Point 1: unable to move his body at all despite being instructed or given pain stimulation.
- Point 2: can only clench the fingers and toes or straighten the feet and hands when given pain stimulation.
- Point 3: only able to bend the arm and rotate the shoulder when given pain stimulation.
- Point 4: able to move the body away from the source of pain when stimulated by pain. For example, the person responds by pulling their hand when pinched.
- Point 5: able to move the body when given a painful stimulus and the person can indicate the location of the pain.
- Point 6: able to perform any body movement when commanded.
The GCS scale is obtained by adding up each point from the three aspects of the examination above. This scale is used as an initial stage of evaluating the condition of a person who has fainted or has just had an accident and then becomes unconscious before being given further help.
As a first aider, you can report the GCS number to the next treating medical party. This calculation is useful for doctors as a basis for determining treatment and assessing response to treatment given.
If you still have questions about how to measure the GCS to assess the level of consciousness, you can consult a doctor or use the service chat with the doctor through the ALODOKTER application to get further explanation.