Dementia

    Cards (9)

    • Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life.
    • It impacts memory, thinking skills and the ability to carry out daily tasks.
      Early signs include memory loss, especially losing track of dates, events or forgetting information recently learned.
      Difficulty in planning and solving simple problems is another early symp
      toms.
      Disorientation or getting lost in familiar places, individuals may forget where they are or how they got there.
    • Dementia can lead to issues with memory, reasoning ,orientation and understanding. These are referred to as cognitive impairments and can severely impact a persons daily living skills.
    • Language skills can be gradually lost, making it difficult for individuals to express their needs, comprehend what is being said and interact socially.
    • The disease can cause physical symptoms such as a dramatic reduction in mobility , a lack of coordination ,muscle weakness and difficulties in eating or swallowing.
    • Individuals with dementia often experience changes in personality and mood which can result in depression, anxiety and irritability.
    • Alzheimers disease causes brain cells to waste away and die. This leads to the loss of connections between nerve cells in the brain. The symptoms of alzheimers disease develop slowly over many years.
    • Along with cognitive decline, dementia can trigger mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. These conditions often arise from the combination of physical changes in the brain and the psychological impact of dealing with the disease
    • Due to the loss of cognitive and physical abilities ,there tends to be increased dependency on caregivers . This reliance develops not just for medical needs but for everyday tasks such as bathing, dressing and eating.