Dementia Case Study Essay

for England (QCF) and Edexcel Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for Wales and

All forms of dementia can affect the way a person communicates, so in time they may have to find different ways of expressing themselves and their feelings. As a carer your non-verbal communication will become important, your body language, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact and tone of voice will have to be taken into account when you are communicating with a sufferer. In the early stages of some forms of dementia people may have difficulty finding the right word they are looking for, and in the later stages of some forms of dementia the words could be lost completely. As the dementia progresses, it gets a lot

2.2 Explain the importance of recording possible signs or symptoms of dementia in an individual in line with agreed ways of working

There are many reasons that Mrs. Yowell may have impaired mental functioning (see Table 1). The first and easiest reason to rule out would be a urinary tract infection (UTI). A urine sample can show if there are white blood cells (indicating infection) present in the urine. The increased levels of bacteria in an elderly person’s body can cause toxicity which leads to the altered mental status (Midthun, 2004). Most noted changes are confusion, agitation and lethargy.

This is an 89-year-old, was transferred here from Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina on 01/21, for a multitude of problems including altered mental status. The patient can communicate but not well enough to really give a history. I have obtained all this history from her daughter Cynthia who works here at Mayview. I am told that Mamie was born in Edgecombe County right outside of Tarboro and she lived the majority of her life in those areas of Edgecombe County, Pitt County, and Martin County. She got married at the age of 19, and had 13 children. Three of the oldest children have died. Cynthia lives here in Raleigh and her sister Brenda works in Raleigh, but lives in Clayton. Mamie's husband died of some type of respiratory

Dementia is a syndrome, which is usually of a chronic or progressive nature, which causes deterioration in cognitive function. It goes beyond what is expected from normal aging. It causes changes in what you remember, like appointments, or phone numbers. It may cause you to get lost in a familiar setting like driving to the grocery store. You may not be able to balance your checkbook or add up your points in a card game. Communication becomes difficult; as you cannot find the words you want to say. Your personality may change, you may become paranoid, be crabby or short tempered, and you may say or do inappropriate things or laugh when nothing is funny. Dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people

Being first diagnosed with this disease the symptoms are often subtle and can go unnoticed. Some examples of this can be the person diagnosed with dementia can forget where the bathroom in their house is or that they left the keys in their car. Then the disease will progress to more noticeable effects such as not remembering the rules of the road and forgetting where you are going while driving. For Chris, in The Truth about Dementia, this is exactly what had happened to him. Chris for all of his life was into motorcycles and owned his own auto body shop. When he gave his license up after getting confused while driving, his symptoms seemed to get worse at what seemed like a fast pace. For dementia patients this is a normal process in their disease. Chris also stated that he while he still had some of his cognition left, he wanted to keep telling his family that he loved them because once his dementia progressed he knew he wasn’t going to be the same and problem not be able to tell

In the beginning of the nineteenth century, dementia became a true medical condition. The disease was known to have symptoms of lack of memory, social, and mental disability. When the disease became more severe, people were sent to asylums “In 1907 Dr. Alois Alzheimer published a paper identifying a cluster of symptoms of dementia. These included reduced comprehension and memory, disorientation, unpredictable behavior and difficulties with communication. Thus Alzheimer’s disease was born.” (Welsch 17). Little care and little research were done for people who were suffering from the disease. If not taken care of at home, the person would be sent to a psych-ward facility. There was a debate concerning if dementia was a social or nurse profession. “Since the 1980s the profile of dementia has been raised and how it is viewed has changed. Sufferers are no longer seen as unfortunate victims of diseased brains for whom little can be done, but as fellow human beings capable of responding and enjoying human relationships and having a full bill of rights.” (Welsch 18). Caring for a dementia sufferer will become challenging to recover his or her life. Dementia remains untreatable, but there are medications provided to help prolong the memory of a sufferer. The drug, ‘anti-cholinesterase inhibitors’, helps postpone the effects that will show in the final stages. Supporting and caring for people with dementia will have a large impact on

“The concept of dementia has been around since early civilizations. Ancient philosophers viewed mental decay as a normal part of ageing. The prevalence and study of dementia increased as the lifespan of humans extended. In the late 1800s, with advancements in medicine and the ability to look inside the brain, the medical community realized that diseases could cause this deterioration. The most common dementia was named, in 1910, after Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist.

Over three million people every year are diagnosed with a group of conditions, called dementia. Dementia is not a disease itself, but instead is a term that is used to describe a range of symptoms. Actual diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and strokes, can cause dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause for dementia; it accounts for sixty to eighty percent of all dementia cases. Incorrectly, dementia is sometimes called “senility.” This is incorrect because the term “senility” portrays dementia and its symptoms as normal signs of aging, which is not the case.

In my early 20s I was given an opportunity to work with Clara, an elderly woman who had dementia. Everyday I would arrive at promptly at 7:30am, I would prepare breakfast, and wait until 8:30am when she would wake up. Some days I was greeted by a cheerful Clara ready to take on the day, other days, I would have to reintroduce myself, calm her down and remind her of where she was, who I was, and explain to her daily routine. It was very difficult for me at times, I never got angry, but sad. It was truly heartbreaking to see this woman that I was caring for completely be taken over by dementia. Watching the videos, featuring Teepa Snow, brought back a lot of memories and experiences I had with Clara. The portrayals of dementia people were so

Dementia is characterized as a condition where the mental processes of cognition and memory start to deteriorate. It is described as a syndrome that hinders the daily lives of those who have it and is characterized by memory and thinking impairment. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease and the second most common is vascular dementia. Dementia is a syndrome occurring usually, but not limited, to people over the age of 40 and is due to brain damage caused by natural deteriorating, stroke or can be brought on by factors such as excessive drinking or drug abuse. Dementia is best cared for in its early stages and, therefore, an early diagnosis is essential. Recognizing the symptoms by both the dementia patient and the

Kayla and I focused on the recovery-oriented approach to progressive neurocognitive disorders, specifically Alzheimer’s disease. Before beginning this presentation I knew a decent amount about Alzheimer’s disease since my grandmother past away from it and because I’ve also learned about it in a dementia course I took in second year. However, I had never heard of the recovery-oriented approach or any interventions in general for Alzheimer’s disease. This was interesting to learn about because when I first thought of the recovery model I assumed it meant cure, which would not be appropriate for someone with Alzheimer’s disease. I have learned that the recovery approach is more about the process or journey rather then the destination or cure.

This assignment critically discusses about dementia, a widespread disability among older adults today. It provides an introduction to dementia and analyses its prevalence in society. The various forms of dementias are elaborated with description about dysfunctions and symptoms. Nursing Assessment and Interventions are provided in the further sections which discusses about actions nurses should take on while evaluating patients and treating them. Finally, communication, an important Activity of Daily Living (ADL) is explored and patient/carer advice is presented so as to maintain good health conditions in the patient.

Out of the rapidly inclining population in the world, there are people who develop dementia every 66 seconds(“2016 Alzheimer’s Disease”). Being such a common disease in the elderly, there are 47.5 million people in the world with this disease(“2016 Alzheimer’s Disease”). Once families start to realize that their parents and grandparents have developed this, they start to wonder if they are able to live on their own. Within a few months, a decision is made whether if it is best for them to be put into a nursing home. Most often, those with dementia do happen to end up in nursing homes. Many wonder if being put into a nursing home will actually cause their dementia and their ability to live on their own to worsen. With the effects of activities, this could change. Activities help slow the deterioration of the brain(Smith). The activities and exercises performed by nursing homes to help improve the overall cognitive development in dementia patients. Nursing homes should induct purposeful daily activities to improve cognitive, social, and psychological development in dementia care