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Health and Social Care

Satisfactory Essays

Unit 13 –Dementia Awareness

1)
1.1. Explain what is meant by the term ‘dementia’ Dementia is a set of symptoms that affect the way people think and interact with each other. It is not a disease, but can often be linked to a disease or damage done to the brain. Short-time memory, mind, speech and motor skills are affected. Certain forms of dementia cause a change in the personality of the individual. A person suffering from dementia will lose certain skills and knowledge they already had. This is the main difference to other conditions that affect the mind. People who suffer from learning problems, or lower intelligence will never acquire certain skills, people suffering from dementia will lose skills they have acquired. Dementia is …show more content…

They can forget to do the essential things that are vital. Taking medicines, hygiene and even eating are often forgotten. They can get lost or hurt and do not understand what is necessary to correct a situation. Turning on the cooker or water and forgetting to turn it off, locking doors, crossing streets etc. can be dangerous even deadly. In the same way you would not think as an infant incapable of self care a person with dementia cannot be either. Considering the facts that they cannot act in the manner of a responsible adult makes them disabled.
References: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/files/samplechapter/DementiaSC.pdf http://www.focusondisability.org.uk/dementia.html
3)
3.1. List the most common causes of dementia * Alzheimer 's Disease -the most common cause of dementia * Brain damage after multiple small Stroke (so-called vascular dementia) * Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism * HIV and AIDS * Multiple Sclerosis * Huntington 's Disease * Parkinson 's Disease * Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease * Lewy Body Disease * Pick 's disease (fronto-temporal dementia) * Normal pressure Hydrocephalus * Untreated Syphilis * Toxic levels of metals, such as aluminum (can sometimes occur in dialysis patients) * Vitamin B12 deficiency * Thiamine deficiency
3.2. Describe the likely signs and symptoms of the most common causes of dementia
They often begin mildly and progress over time. Symptoms vary according to

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