24 Mar Dementia

Dementia itself is not a disease but rather a general term that refers to impaired memory ability, ability to make decisions, ability to maintain social skills or ability to think coherently, with which this may interfere when performing activities of daily living.

Depending on the cause, some dementia symptoms may be reversible.

The symptoms are very varied and we usually differentiate them into two ranges, cognitive and psychological:

Cognitive:

• Confusion and disorientation.
• Difficulty in reasoning.
• Planning problems.
• Difficulties in coordination and motor functions.
• Complication at the time of any easy task (eating, dressing…)
• Loss of visual and spatial abilities (know where you are)
• Not having the memory of always (relatives are the first to notice this)

Psychological:

• Sudden changes in the personality of the person.
• Anxiety.
• Depression.
• Strange and inappropriate behavior.
• Agitation.
• Various hallucinations (such as when they tell us that they have been with their mother and in reality it was the neighbor)
• Confusion and lost look, among others.

It is important to explain that although dementia generally involves memory loss.

This does not always mean that you suffer from this disease, since it can be caused by many things (for example, reaction to new medications, vitamin deficiencies, among others).

The most important thing in these cases is knowing how to lead a healthy lifestyle.

This pathology is caused by the damage or loss of nerve cells and their connection, depending on the damaged area of the brain, can have different impacts on patients and thus cause a different symptom in each one.

Some risk factors for suffering from it are age (+65 years), family history, ethnic groups (African-Americans are twice as likely), poor coronary health, traumatic brain injuries (after accidents), Down syndrome (early-onset Alzheimer’s) .

In the above we cannot change anything, however we can change the external ones that we know aggravate it, such as eating poorly, not exercising regularly, consuming alcohol, cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, cholesterol, obesity), depression, diabetes, smoking, vitamin deficiencies, sleep apnea, living in places with high environmental pollution, traumatic brain injuries.

People with hearing loss are more likely to develop cognitive impairment.

The treatment of dementia will always depend on the underlying cause, neurodegenerative dementias (Alzheimer’s) have no cure, but there are different treatments that help their progression when it comes to behavioral changes, stress and anxiety management.

The diagnosis of dementia is made through physical examinations, blood tests, diagnostic brain imaging studies (tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)), these are the most common when the doctor determines the disease.

For all people who suffer from dementia, their state of mind is very important and simply seeing that they continue to be valid and have the greatest possible autonomy to be able to function when it comes to hygiene and nutrition is of great help.

Thanks to gripping aid tools, adapters and aids in general, such as a walker or whatever is needed for the functionality of each patient, they are essential in the lives of these people and they get them to overcome their day-to-day challenges and lose more slowly the ability to move.

Cheer up to all the families who suffer from it!