What You Need To Know About Dementia?
Dementia is one of the most common illnesses or sickness of older people today. These people experience memory loss, and they cannot even recall simple tasks or activities that they used to do every day. The whole family is affected when one of their family members have this disease. The patient won’t even recall their close relatives, friends and even their sons and daughters.
What are the Causes?
There are many causes of memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. During the course of a person’s life, there are head injuries and accidents that may cause sickness like dementia when they get older. Some of the causes are brain tumors, strokes and head injuries. Another study has also linked high blood pressure as a cause for this sickness.
Scientists scan the brains of patients with high blood pressure and they found out that the brain is damaged when blood is pumped with high pressure. The brains developed scars that can cause this disease, as the person gets younger.
Occasionally the cause for this sickness is curable such as deficiency of vitamin B12 or hypothyroidism. With early detection and cure, the illness can be avoided and the sickness can be reversed.
What are the Symptoms?
You will directly know that a person can have dementia when they have bouts of losing memory. People suffering from this sickness will have difficulty making simple decisions, understanding some words and unable to do common daily tasks and activities. They often get lost so they are not allowed to go out by themselves.
Patients with this sickness often have sudden mood swings or they swiftly change their personality. They may shift from being happy to totally sad or angry in just a few minutes. During the advanced stage of the sickness, the patients will not even recognize their loved ones or take care of themselves. This is the most heartbreaking and difficult part for the family of the patient because almost every memory has been forgotten.
How is It Diagnosed?
Dementia diagnosis is done by reviewing the medical history of the person. The doctor will also ask if there are any members in the family who have also suffered from this sickness. The family and medical history will be reviewed to see if there is a possibility that the person can be affected by this fatal condition. Memory tests will then be conducted to see if the person is capable of remembering things in their lives for the past few months. This kind of test will show if the person is still in the normal range or if there is a cause for concern.
For patients who show signs of poor mental capability, the doctor will conduct additional tests to prove if the condition can become serious. The diagnosis may include MRI or brain scan to see if there are any tumors in the brain. The doctor will also check for thyroid problems, infections and blood tests. If the doctor sees that the brain becomes smaller, there is a huge possibility that dementia has already set in.
How can You Prevent this Disease?
Preventing should be a priority for families who are prone to inherit this debilitating disease. The person has to abstain being stressed out constantly and the lifestyle has to be clean and healthy. A complete and balanced diet is also very important if you want to sharpen your brain. The person also has to stimulate the brain to increase his or her mental health.
There are many mental activities that you can do to keep your brain functioning. You can play mental games such as crosswords or chess. Studies have shown that keeping your brain busy with puzzles and problem solving tasks can be healthy for you.
Healthy food such as fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meat, low-fat dairy and whole grain products can prevent the starting of this disease. Seafood can also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease because fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids.
If you don’t want to have this disease when you get old, then you should have a healthy lifestyle. This can be done by exercising regularly and being physically fit. You should also give yourself some time to relax and recharge your body. Releasing stress is also necessary to avoid being sick.
Recently, there is no cure for this disease. The best way is to educate the people on how to prevent this disease. If the person is already suffering from memory loss, the patient has to be attended by qualified caregivers. You should ensure that your loved one receives the right treatment to combat this disease.
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