Nutritional Requirements of Individual with Dementia Essay

Being diagnosed with dementia will affect people in different ways. The service user could become withdrawn and depressed, this will affect their well-being and how they look after and treat them self’s. They can start to self-harm or neglect them self’s through personal hygiene or through there eating, eating too much or too little. They may even become so depressed and down in mood

One of the difficulties for individual with dementia is that as their dementia progresses they may lack capacity to make decisions for themselves. However, the fact that they cannot make decision in some areas does not mean they cannot make decisions in other areas. A dementia suffer may be able to choose their dietary requirements but might not able to make a decision about what to wear.

Dementia as a clinical syndrome is characterised by global cognitive impairment, which represents a decline from previous level of functioning and is associated with impairment in functional abilities and in many cases behavioural and psychiatric disturbances.

1.3 Individual’s process information in different ways therefore depending on their abilities will depend on their limitations of individuals with dementia. Some people are aware of their limitations, this may make them feel sad for the way they are now and making them worried about the future. Usually as the disease progresses, the level of self-awareness will most likely decline as well. In earlier stages of dementia the person you care fore may deny or not understand that they have the disease and this can then result in them not realising their own limitations in their abilities, such as driving, cooking etc.

1.5 - Explain why it is important to include a variety of food and drink in the diet of an individual with dementia:

Even diet or illness can affect their abilities or needs. One day a person with dementia will remember, and be quite able, to complete certain tasks but then may be incapable another. This is not their choice it is because the brain is a very complex organ and the chemical changes vary from person to person. The information is still in the memory but the neurotransmitters are able to send messages one day but maybe not the next. If an individual has a water infection they may be more confused and their needs go up whilst their abilities go down. Medication may produce more hallucinations or tremors therefore once again their needs are increased.

The ability to make decisions may fluctuate with someone with dementia due to the changing status of the illness. Their capacity will deteriorate over time and situations they are in can determine their mental state, for example if a person with dementia is tired or is put into a stressful situation they can find it very difficult to comprehend what is going on and become frustrated and confused therefore hindering their ability to make a decision. Knowing the persons past and present, wishes, feelings, beliefs and values can help us to better understand and help them to make decisions. As dementia worsens this can become more difficult as communication breaks down, this is where care plans are important, this will contain all the information about the individual It is also helpful to speak to family and friends to find the best ways to care for the person.

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.

There is a need to identify the level and type of support an individual requires when eating and drinking. Any support while eating or drinking is to be provided respecting the service user’s human dignity, while the carer is exhibiting warmth and a calm attitude. The care plan informs whether the service user is able to feed him/herself, or needs assistance. Many service users will feed themselves when starting their meal, but will get tired and will then require assistance. The hands of service users with Parkinson’s may have to be gently directed so that they manage eating independently. The carer may need to cut the food for the service user. Service users with chewing difficulties, or swallowing precautions, or a history of choking need to be supervised while eating. Of course, these service users will also get a soft diet. Service users living with dementia may reject food which to them resembles to gruesome things (e.g., they may think meat bits in a dark sauce are cocroaches), therefore person-centered support is important. Service users with learning disabilities may find it hard to estimate distances, so the carer will make sure plates and glasses are well within their reach.

Constipation - This is a common problem and can result in the person feeling bloated or nauseous, making them less likely to want to eat. Try to prevent constipation by encouraging activity, offering the person fibre-rich foods and providing plenty of fluids. If constipation becomes a problem for the person, speak to the GP.

What is dementia? Dementia a neurologic condition characterized by the following cognitive defects; impaired memory, disturbed intellectual function, and inability to solve a problem (deWit O’Neill 2014). Dementia occurs in different stages in this paper we are going to be discussing late stage dementia, and the end stage. The effect that dementia has on a person’s nutritional status. Why is the dementia patient more at risk for malnutrition? Things we as health care providers can do to improve the person with dementias intake, and preventing malnutrition, and finally how nutrition effects the dementia patient during the final and end stages.

This information is very important for the health and social care profession, as individual tastes have to be taken into account when planning a person’s diet. More and more people are enjoying a diet with herbs and spices. This is partly due to our multicultural society and also because more people are travelling to other countries and tasting different types of food and drink. A person’s diet also needs to be tailored to their health requirements. For example, diabetics and some older people may need to exclude certain foods; likewise, a person’s religious belief may mean that halal meat is a requirement. Asking people about their food likes and dislikes, and what they can and cannot eat, is all part of considering and respecting their diversity.’

People who suffer from dementia may also be at risk of mal-nutrition. People with dementia rely on others to help them to organise their day to day life such as preparing their meals. People with dementia are at risk of mal-nutrition as they may not be physically able to provide themselves with a balanced diet, there may also be the issue that they are not able to remember whether they have eaten and therefore decide not to make themselves

Functional change is losing ability to remember how to eat using cutlery. Instead, some people find easier to pick up food by hand, so finger food

Dementia effects your memory and a person’s ability to achieve a normal everyday task and activities.