Early Signs Of A Progressive Dementia

If the dementia is untreated, the patients develop behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, which finally result in a higher medical cost for treatment and premature institutionalization. Caregivers and the staff attending to the patients also feel stressed; therefore, providing poor quality care to the patient (Dowling et al., 2007).

I have been in care for a while and started out as a health care support worker so I have seen all different levels of progression with all different types of dementia. However the importance of early diagnosis is the same.

Early diagnosis of dementia can have a huge impact on the individual and their family and friends.

Individuals diagnosed with dementia have to face with the prospect of gradual loss of the capacity to make their own decisions. They need to think about and make their choises about care, treatment and money when they are not able to speak for themselves at some time in the future.

The term ‘dementia’ is used to describe a syndrome associated with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities. This includes problems with memory loss, thinking speed, mental agility, language, understanding, and judgment. People with dementia can become apathetic or uninterested in their usual activities, and have problems controlling their emotion. They also fine social situation challenging, lose interest in socialising and aspect of their personality may change. The majority of people who are diagnosed with dementia have either Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia, or a combination of the two. (Source 1) As the disease progresses, the person experiencing dementia becomes more vulnerable and their needs often complex; which requires appropriate care and management (Kitwood, 1997).this leads me to the next distinctive feature of patients with dementia.

The term ‘dementia’ describes a set of symptoms which can include loss of memory, mood changes and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by certain conditions and diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. 
Age is the greatest risk factor for dementia. Dementia affects one in 14 people over the age of 65 and one in six over the age of 80. However, dementia is not restricted to older people: in the UK, there are over 17,000 people under the age of 65 with dementia, although this figure is likely to be an underestimate.

At this point, coordination is at a point where falls are often major risks, and considering many cases of the disease occur in the elderly, this can become a fatal risk. Close relatives are soon to become unrecognizable and the long term memory of the individual begins to fade as the disease worsens. It is often that at this point of the disease, the patient is put into a care center, as they may become a burden to the family members around them. Emotions swing and become entirely unpredictable and often resistance to care will occur as the patients lose awareness of their condition and become confused with their surroundings.

Focusing on dementia, it is not constantly possible to involve the dementia sufferers in the decision making course of their care without encouragement and assistance by

Dementia refers to a syndrome which results in deterioration in thinking, memory, behavior, and ability to execute everyday activities and duties. Despite the fact that the syndrome is mainly associated with the older people, it is not a normal aspect or part of ageing. One of the major causes of dementia is the aspect of Alzheimer's disease. This disease contributes to about 60 to 70 percent of the cases of dementia. Dementia possesses psychological, physical, economic, and social impacts in relation to the family, caregivers, and the entire society. Dementia affects each individual in a diverse or different way with reference to the impact of the disease and personality following the development of the syndrome (Gao et al, 2013 p. 447).

Dementia is an extremely common disease among the elderly, with 4 million Americans currently suffering from the Alzheimer’s type alone. Figures show that 3% of people between the ages of 65-74 suffer from the disease, rapidly increasing to 19% for the 75-84 age bracket, and as high as 47% for the over 85s. Therefore, it is easy to see why Dementia is such a large part of many people’s lives, whether they are suffering from the condition themselves, or have an elderly relative who requires full time care just to undertake simple day to day tasks. The disease can be extremely traumatic for the patient and their families, as the person, who may have been extremely lively and bright throughout their

Receiving an early diagnosis is better for the Alzheimer’s patient. An early diagnosis helps families plan for the future, make arrangements, care of financial matters, and develop support networks. Developing the disease early provides a greater opportunity to get involved with clinical trials. Diagnosing the disease early prolongs the time a patient can be managed at home (“A Treatment Overview of Alzheimer’s Disease”). Early diagnosis can help retain function in the victim for months to years (“Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet” 4). With an early diagnosis, scientists can start finding the best treatment for the victim (“A Treatment Overview of Alzheimer’s Disease” 1). Doctors find the patients tolerance for medicines and therapies with an early diagnosis. Doctors also ask the patients opinions and preferences when the patients are first diagnosed.

With this being the case it is recommended that caregivers to the elderly make themselves aware of the common signs of Alzheimer’s. Things such as forgetting a name important dates, appointments or difficulty following a familiar recipe but remembering them later, trouble finding their words when talking, rapid mood swings, separation from friends and family to being confused about a time or place, all of these are signs to watch for and look

This paper is on dementia, a late-life disorder, as it pertains to the geriatric population. “It is estimated that 24.3 million people around the world have dementia and that, with an estimated 4.6 million new cases every year, we can expect about 43 million people and their families to have to handle the challenge of dementia by 2020.” (McNamera, 2011) I will cover three relevant points concerning this disorder that cause changes in the brain.

In many cases patients with dementia wait a long period of time to go to the doctor after they start experiencing symptoms because they think it is a natural part of aging. The patients with dementia notice symptoms far before their care givers do but do not explain them to anyone. The fact that the patients wait so long to see a doctor about their symptoms and the lack of knowledge of the disease by the patient and care givers is a major hindrance to getting an accurate diagnosis and care. The care givers of the dementia patients play a major role in the diagnosis process as results showed they either promote or hinder the start of the diagnosis process. Early detection is essential to helping the patients live the best lives possible with dementia. Although treatment does not cure dementia it is usually much more effective in slowing in the progression when started in the early stages and an early diagnosis

After Alzheimer's is diagnosed in a parent, or other elderly family member, the caregiver has the task of deciding what the best form of care for the patient is. In order to do this they have to fully understand what the disease is, and