What Is Dementia: Basics You Should Know

By Jack Morgan


Dementia in itself is not a specific disease as many people think but rather it's a term that is used to describe more than one brain disorder with common signs and symptoms. The condition is commonly associated with old age but can also affect the young and people in the middle age due to illness or change of lifestyle. Signs and symptoms that is associated with dementia include; memory loss, inability to work, communicate, think and loss of cognitive skills.

Dementias are most often progressive; the symptoms start slowly and get worse with time. In case if any of your friend or relative faces difficulty in remembering, do not ignore. Consult to doctor as soon as possible. Professional help may detect the problem in early stages and if the symptoms are related to dementia, early diagnosis helps victim to get maximum benefit.

Damage to brain cells causes dementia. It affects the ability of cells to communicate with each other. When brain cells fail to communicate normally it affects behavior, feelings and thinking of a person.

Dementia always starts with short term memory loss affecting the way the people talk and think. People often tend to forget the words they want to speak and can also have issues in planning. If the disease affects that part of the brain which controls emotions, then people can feel angry, depressed, frustrated, sad or frightened.

Some facts about this disease are that one in every four people suffer from dementia. This number is estimated to shoot up by one third to 410000 in approximately 10 years. Every week there are 18000 new cases which is expected to grow to 7500 new cases every week by 2050 and the number of people with this disease are expected to be 950000 by the same year.

The major causes of this disease are firstly, Alzheimer's disease where the brain structure changes ultimately leading to the death of the brain cells. Secondly, Vascular dementia where the oxygen supply to the brain breaks down and the brain cells die. Thirdly, Dementia with Lewy bodies that causes degeneration of brain tissue leading to hallucinations and disorientation. Fourthly, Fronto-temporal dementia where the front part of the brain is damaged causing changes in the behavior of the person.

How to take care of a patent living with dementia? If you are living with a friend or relative who has dementia try to be very patient and accommodative to the patient despite change in behavior since dementia affects the mind. Show them love and affection and be there when they need self-care such as using the toilet, feeding, dressing and cleaning.

Treatment of dementia varies depending upon its cause. In most of the cases of progressive dementias including Alzheimer, there is no treatment to check its progression. However use of certain drugs may temporarily improve symptoms.

The best way to keep yourself away from dementia is to control your smoking and drinking habits. As blood directly affects mind, take steps to control your blood pressure and sugar level. Perform regular exercises as it increase the oxygen and blood flow to brain. Also take care of your diet, eat lots of fruits and green vegetables.




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