The Rights People with Dementia Should Have Essay examples

Dementia is a progressive disorder that will affect how you’re brain functions and particularly your ability to remember, think and reason. Dementia usually affects older people and are approximately 820,000 people in the UK with the disorder, and around 15,000 are under the age of 65. If the dementia is recognised early enough that are a lot of things that you can be done to make the quality of life better. In a lot of dementia cases the symptoms and quality of life will progress and get worse over a number of years. The most common symptoms of a dementia patient are:

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

During an average lifetime, one can expect to have at least occasional memory lapses from time to time. Usually it's something as simple as forgetting what you just did a few minutes ago, forgetting if you turned the stove off, or if you left your keys on the table or in the bathroom counter. Such lapses are relatively normal, but when they become a recurring theme, it's a more serious problem.

Dementia is an umbrella term used to explain the gradual decline in multiple areas of functions, which includes thinking, perception, communication, memory, languages, reasoning, and the ability to function (Harrison-Dening 2013). Worldwide, 47.5 million people have dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases every year. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and may contribute to 60–70% of cases. (Alzheimer's society 2014). The complexity of dementia presents a number of behavioural challenges to those who live with dementia and their care providers. Aggressive behaviour seems to be one of the most prevalent challenging behaviours in the different stages of dementia (Weitzel et al 2011). As acute care

The term ‘dementia’ is used to describe a syndrome associated with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities. This includes problems with memory loss, thinking speed, mental agility, language, understanding, and judgment. People with dementia can become apathetic or uninterested in their usual activities, and have problems controlling their emotion. They also fine social situation challenging, lose interest in socialising and aspect of their personality may change. The majority of people who are diagnosed with dementia have either Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia, or a combination of the two. (Source 1) As the disease progresses, the person experiencing dementia becomes more vulnerable and their needs often complex; which requires appropriate care and management (Kitwood, 1997).this leads me to the next distinctive feature of patients with dementia.

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.

| * Established the independent mental capacity advocates service * Makes it clear who can make decisions for other individuals in different situations, and how they must go about doing so. * Applies whether the decision is about living changing events or every day matters – relevant to adults of any age, regardless of when they lost capacity

Dementia can be defined as a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life (alz.org). More than often, individuals affected by dementia are over the age of 65. In the United States, there are more than three million cases of dementia each year. According to World Health Organization, the number of people living with dementia is currently estimated at 47.5 million worldwide and is expected to increase to 75.6 million by 2030 (World Health Organization 2015). Dementia is caused by physical modifications in the brain and is known for loss of memory and mental abilities. It’s a progressive disease which means it gets worse over time. If diagnosed early on, the quality of life for people with dementia as well as their family members can be significantly improved. There are many different types of dementias although some are far more reciprocal than others. One of the most common types of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Other few types of dementias are “Vascular dementia, Mixed dementia, Parkinson 's disease and Frontotemporal dementia (Krishnan, D. S)”. All of the various forms of dementia tend to have similar symptoms which consequently makes it hard to determine the type of dementia a patient may be suffering from.

From my experience, I never thought dementia as a major health problem and never heard of Alzheimer’s disease when I was in Nepal. I thought that as we get older, it’s natural that we leave our brain unexercised and loose memory. My grandfather was not officially diagnosed with dementia but now I think my grandfather had experienced dementia when he died at his 80s. I recognize his change in personality, frequent confusion and a declining

     It is inevitable that eventually each of us will grow old and begin to face more and more health problems as our age rises. Elderly people are challenged by many illnesses and diseases that unfortunately, are incurable. One disease that becomes more common as people age is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s a common cause and a form of dementia and can severely damage a patient’s cognitive functions and can ultimately cause death. Living with Alzheimer’s disease can be saddening for both the sufferer and the family. Family and friends will find it very hard to cope when a loved one begins slipping away and losing memory of who they are.

Dementia is an extremely common disease among the elderly, with 4 million Americans currently suffering from the Alzheimer’s type alone. Figures show that 3% of people between the ages of 65-74 suffer from the disease, rapidly increasing to 19% for the 75-84 age bracket, and as high as 47% for the over 85s. Therefore, it is easy to see why Dementia is such a large part of many people’s lives, whether they are suffering from the condition themselves, or have an elderly relative who requires full time care just to undertake simple day to day tasks. The disease can be extremely traumatic for the patient and their families, as the person, who may have been extremely lively and bright throughout their

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

As we get older as time goes on there are multiple hardships that a human encounter and a major one is Alzheimer’s disease. As I chose to pursue a nursing degree I realize that I will see this disease in my future career and I also recognize that it is one of the hardest to cope with. I’m aware that I will be working with the elderly and it is highly likely that a few might have the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. This disease puts stress not only on the patient but also on the caregivers which most likely end up being family. They watch a person they knew their entire life change into a totally different person and they have to deal with the fact that there is nothing they can do about it. They only have the ability to remember how that person used to be and realize that the individual with AD didn’t choose to change into the person they are now. The person you once knew can control their emotions or actions. They say things and do things that they never would have done or said before.

Dementia is a progressive diagnosis that takes place over months or years. Dementia occurs in stops compared to other psychological diagnoses in the elderly and age is a major risk factor. The older the adult the increased risk of dementia occurring. There are different forms of dementia, but Alzheimers is the most prevalent of all the types. Dementia, as stated above, is associated with delirium during an acute illness and is hard to identify in patients with underlying dementia. Dementia causes a decline in executive fncitoning and memory, as a result, decreasing the patient's overall quality of life because their activities of daily living become more and more limited. Behaviors and changes in mood are also noted in these patients, such as;

“Ted sought a diagnosis after being terminated from his job. Little did anyone know his memory and performance issues were due to a disease. (Life with ALZ)” This disease causes the loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. Dementia, is one form of this disease that gradually gets worse over time. It affects memory, thinking, and behavior. (WebMD, 1995) “Changes that take place in the brains of people. These brain changes may cause the memory loss and decline in other mental abilities that occur with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer’s generally affects the brain making the ability to think straight harder. (Alzheimer Association, 1980)” Individuals that have this disease are become more modern with new different