Dementia Awareness Unit 237 Dementia is a condition which is the gradual loss of brain function, this also makes it degenerative. It can include symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, problems with speech and understanding. Dementia at the moment has no cure, as it has a number of diseases that coincide with it. Alzheimer’s is part of dementia. Functions that are affected by dementia are; Short term Memory loss, Language skills, the ability to interpret information, spatial skills, judgement and attention.
Dementia Awareness 1.1 Explain what is meant by the term Dementia Dementia are the signs and symptoms caused as a result of specific diseases such as Alzheimer’s or a stroke that involve the damaging of brain cells; as the brain cells die the person with a dementia will lose their ability to do things they are used to doing as different parts of the brain are damaged. Dementia affects both older and younger people and the decline in the person will get worse as more brain cells are damaged or die. 1.2 Describe the key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia The main areas of the brain that are affected by dementia in terms of causing difficulties with their functions are: 1) Frontal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls behaviour, movement, personality and the interpretation of what is around us 2) Parietal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls the language we use, spacial awareness and recognition of places, objects and people. 3) Occipital Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls eyesight and our ability to see 4) Temporal Lobe – this is the part of the brain that controls our speech, hearing and memory 1.3 Explain why depression, delirium and age related memory impairment may be mistaken for dementia Depression can sometimes be mistaken for dementia because with dementia a person’s behaviour and feeling of well-being can change and cause the person to appear withdrawn and this for example might be mistaken for depression. However, if the person is depressed then it could be the depression not the dementia causing them ill-being.
Dementia is a collection of symptoms including memory loss, personality change, and impaired intellectual functions resulting from disease or trauma to the brain. These changes are not part of normal aging and are severe enough to impact daily living, independence, and relationships. There will likely be noticeable decline in communication, learning, remembering, and problem solving. These changes may occur quickly or very slowly over time. Common signs and symptoms of dementia include: * Memory loss * Impaired judgment
Dementia Awareness Understand what dementia is. 1) Dementia is where there is a decline of the brain and its abilities, it is caused when the brain is damaged by disease, for example, Alzheimer’s disease, damage to the brain or a series of strokes. There are several types of dementia these include, vascular, Alzheimer’s, lewy bodies, fronto-temporal. 2) Areas affected by dementia are memory loss, speed of thinking, mental agility, language, understanding and judgement. 3) Other conditions such as depression and delirium both have similar symptoms as dementia.
Although they cannot communicate their condition signs such as an increased level of confusion can be present indicating an underlying cause (Brooker, 2006). Pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and unnoticed infected skin tears, are a few common problems seen in dementia patients that may go unnoticed due to their condition. If untreated these infections can continue to worsen and can result in sepsis (Dening,
Each for of dementia will have certain symptoms that may be relevant to that disease but some symptoms may be present in more than one form of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease This is the most common cause of dementia around 60 to 80% of individuals affected have this type of dementia. This type of dementia can lead to an individual having difficulty remembering people’s names, places and recent events. They have difficulty learning new information this can lead to difficulty in communication as they may not recognize the person and not engage in conversation with them. Vascular dementia This is the second most common type of dementia and occurs after a significant vascular event for example a stroke.
This man was left quadriplegic after a diving accident and had been bedridden for almost 30 years. He fought a losing battle with government: he never received permission for euthanasia, and in January 1998, with the help of one of his friends he took poison. Another possible reason for the justifying of euthanasia is the lack of space in hospitals for those who can be cured and saved. It is bitter to own up, but this problem exists in many countries. Those who want to live have no chance to get the proper treatment while those who want to die cannot give their place to them.
The way you communicate with mrs a will be different from the way you communicate with Mrs B. Similarly each of the will communicate with you in different ways. You need to know what is important for each of them including very basic things such as what they want to be called. 2.2 Describe a range of communication methods Verbal – Being able to see the person you are communicating with face to face can
Symptoms of strokes vary widely and are broadly grouped. It depends on the territory of the tissue affected. An occlusion of a cerebral vessel in the left hemisphere will cause right hemiplegia, aphasia, and dysphasia (Collins, 2007). They will often have impaired discrimination of their right and left extremity and exhibit slow cautious behavior. Patients with this type of stroke often suffer from depression.
For example, a victim in an accident resulting in head injury may have difficulty remembering anything new. Concussions are a leading cause to anterograde amnesia. It is also a very common type amongst elderly people battling for of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s. In cases of anterograde amnesia, the damage resides in areas of the hippocampus,