Diagnosing and Living with Dementia

A proper diagnosis of dementia is essential, in order to rule out other conditions that may have symptoms similar to dementia and that may be treatable, including depression, chest and urinary infections, severe constipation and brain tumours . Also to rule out other possible causes of confusion, such as poor sight or hearing; emotional changes and upsets, such as moving or bereavement; or the side-effects of certain drugs or combinations of drugs. Folllow up diagnosis can enable a patient to access advice, information and support

Early diagnosis of dementia can have a huge impact on the individual and their family and friends.

According to studies, more than 5 million people are living with Alzheimer’s and that number is

There are many types of dementia, causing many different symptoms and treatments, it may take time to find the appropriate treatment/medication to suit the individual.

By 2015, it is estimated that there will be a number of 850,000 dementia sufferers in the UK and about 225,000 people develop dementia every year in which it is roughly about one person in every three minutes. It is predicted that the number of people with dementia will exceed 2 million in 2050 if preventative measures are not taken. In brief, dementia can be described as a persistent and progressive loss of mental ability due to brain diseases or injuries in which the symptoms can be recognized by memory disorders, perception and personality changes and also impairments of body functions. Alzheimer is the most common type of dementia which contributes about 62% of the cause of dementia and had become a global prevalence disease. By 2015, it

Dementia is a progressive illness that usually occurs over a period of time one of the earliest signs of dementia is problems with a persons memory, this can result in the individual behaving and communicating differently .

The term ‘dementia’ describes a set of symptoms which can include loss of memory, mood changes and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by certain conditions and diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. 
Age is the greatest risk factor for dementia. Dementia affects one in 14 people over the age of 65 and one in six over the age of 80. However, dementia is not restricted to older people: in the UK, there are over 17,000 people under the age of 65 with dementia, although this figure is likely to be an underestimate.

According to government statistics, approximately 750,000 people in the United Kingdom currently have dementia, with an anticipation that this may rise to close to 1.7 million by 2051. Elderly patients are most frequently diagnosed with

I have been in care for a while and started out as a health care support worker so I have seen all different levels of progression with all different types of dementia. However the importance of early diagnosis is the same.

Memory problems are usually the most obvious symptom in people with dementia. For example, a person with early stages of dementia might go to the shops and then cannot remember what they wanted. It is also common to misplace objects. As dementia progresses, sometimes memory loss for recent events is severe and the person may appear to be living in the past. They may think of themselves as young and not recognise their true age.

Globally, the World Health Organisation reports there are approximately 47.5 million people who have been diagnosed with a form of dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases each year. The number of people effected internationally is estimated to triple by 2050 to

In many cases patients with dementia wait a long period of time to go to the doctor after they start experiencing symptoms because they think it is a natural part of aging. The patients with dementia notice symptoms far before their care givers do but do not explain them to anyone. The fact that the patients wait so long to see a doctor about their symptoms and the lack of knowledge of the disease by the patient and care givers is a major hindrance to getting an accurate diagnosis and care. The care givers of the dementia patients play a major role in the diagnosis process as results showed they either promote or hinder the start of the diagnosis process. Early detection is essential to helping the patients live the best lives possible with dementia. Although treatment does not cure dementia it is usually much more effective in slowing in the progression when started in the early stages and an early diagnosis

Meanwhile, the director of research for Alzheimer’s Research UK added that current diagnostic measure used to detect the disease must be improved, because “25% of diagnoses by doctors of early-stage Alzheimer’s are incorrect...Obviously that figure has to improve. Indeed, we have to develop tests that will allow us to make accurate diagnoses at even earlier stages of the disease, before there has been a loss of brain function.”

The WHO highlighted that “Poor understanding creates barriers to timely diagnosis and to accessing ongoing medical and social care, leading to a large gap in treatment” (WHO, 2012). However this could be avoided with proper creation of awareness & guidance for easy understanding of dementia, as well as eradication of stigmatizations which tend to devastate dementia patents and their family/carers even more (WHO, 2012).

For people developing Alzheimer’s disease, there is no actual test to diagnose a person with it. Doctors will diagnose a person with Alzheimer’s disease when they have a severe cognitive decline that will meet the standards of dementia, dementia is very consistent that it will turn in to Alzheimer’s disease and that no other