A Dementia Overview For Caregivers - Understanding Dementia Will Help You Provide Better Care
A dementia overview is important to those caregivers providing care to a loved one at home; as this condition can be very challenging.
Some reading this may already be experiencing the day to day stressors.
There are so many causes of dementia and different types of dementia; it can all get very confusing.
As a caregiver, anticipating and planning to care for an individual with a diagnosis of dementia, knowing what types of dementia will influence how you provide care.
The treatment of dementia depends on many factors, they type of dementia, the causes of the disease and the area of the brain that is and will be affected as they go through the stages of dementia.
Providing care for anyone with this diagnosis is stressful and at times frightening.
This does not have to be the situation.
Taking time to educate yourself about the basics of the specific type of dementia will give you knowledge or what to expect and take some of the mystery out of this disease.
Having a better understanding will empower you to be a more confident and assured caregiver.
Did you know that over 5 million people in the United States alone suffer for some form of dementia? With that, aging baby boomers soon to begin their retirement this number will dramatically increase in the next few decades.
As we are a population that is living longer, this will also increase the percentage of individuals with this diagnosis.
At the present time, research studies show that approximately 1% of individuals between the ages of 60 to 65 years old are affected by dementia.
The percentage increases to as much as 40 to 50% of those that live to be 85 years or longer.
So let's get started on learning the basics of dementia.
This knowledge will be the foundation with which you will be able to develop your care giving plans and behavioral approaches.
It is also meant to empower you to be prepared to take on the various challenges of this disease.
It is also important to understand, as a caregiver, you will become the expert on dementia and the behaviors of the person for which you are providing care.
I hope you will take the time and educate yourself and share your experiences with other family members, as well as, health care providers.
The experiences and your knowledge will be invaluable for many that are just beginning on this journey.
More on a dementia overview for caregivers.
Understanding dementia will help you provide better care Dementia is a decline of reasoning, many other mental abilities (this is referred to as cognitive functions) as well as memory loss.
This decline eventually affects the ability to perform everyday activities such as driving; everyday simple tasks such as shopping and housekeeping.
Personal hygiene becomes neglected and the ability to dress or eat independently becomes affected.
Dementia is NOT a normal part of aging, as it was once thought.
Science has now proven that there are a variety of medical conditions or injuries that can occur in all ages that may result in dementia.
Some dementias have been found to be able to be reversed with proper treatment.
In other forms of dementia, it is a progressive and permanent condition that becomes worse over time.
Dementia is a classification, or category, of many types of diseases and causes of this terrible disease.
The cause of the dementia and the type of dementia will help you to understand some basics and give you a clue as to what may lie ahead for you, the care giver.
It is important to understand that each part of the brain has a different function.
Each medical condition or injury that is determined to be the cause of this disease affects different parts of the brain.
That information is the key as to what to expect as the disease progresses.
Each individual will show some very specific signs and symptoms due to the cause of their dementia, depending on the part of the brain that is attacked.
Because everyone is different and responds differently, you will see some, but not all of the behaviors and physical or mental changes for each category.
A dementia overview and a basic understanding of which type of dementia and which areas of the brain are affected can give caregivers a better understanding of this disease.
This knowledge will empower, you, the caregiver, to plan and prepare and make educated decisions and responses as you provide care.
Some reading this may already be experiencing the day to day stressors.
There are so many causes of dementia and different types of dementia; it can all get very confusing.
As a caregiver, anticipating and planning to care for an individual with a diagnosis of dementia, knowing what types of dementia will influence how you provide care.
The treatment of dementia depends on many factors, they type of dementia, the causes of the disease and the area of the brain that is and will be affected as they go through the stages of dementia.
Providing care for anyone with this diagnosis is stressful and at times frightening.
This does not have to be the situation.
Taking time to educate yourself about the basics of the specific type of dementia will give you knowledge or what to expect and take some of the mystery out of this disease.
Having a better understanding will empower you to be a more confident and assured caregiver.
Did you know that over 5 million people in the United States alone suffer for some form of dementia? With that, aging baby boomers soon to begin their retirement this number will dramatically increase in the next few decades.
As we are a population that is living longer, this will also increase the percentage of individuals with this diagnosis.
At the present time, research studies show that approximately 1% of individuals between the ages of 60 to 65 years old are affected by dementia.
The percentage increases to as much as 40 to 50% of those that live to be 85 years or longer.
So let's get started on learning the basics of dementia.
This knowledge will be the foundation with which you will be able to develop your care giving plans and behavioral approaches.
It is also meant to empower you to be prepared to take on the various challenges of this disease.
It is also important to understand, as a caregiver, you will become the expert on dementia and the behaviors of the person for which you are providing care.
I hope you will take the time and educate yourself and share your experiences with other family members, as well as, health care providers.
The experiences and your knowledge will be invaluable for many that are just beginning on this journey.
More on a dementia overview for caregivers.
Understanding dementia will help you provide better care Dementia is a decline of reasoning, many other mental abilities (this is referred to as cognitive functions) as well as memory loss.
This decline eventually affects the ability to perform everyday activities such as driving; everyday simple tasks such as shopping and housekeeping.
Personal hygiene becomes neglected and the ability to dress or eat independently becomes affected.
Dementia is NOT a normal part of aging, as it was once thought.
Science has now proven that there are a variety of medical conditions or injuries that can occur in all ages that may result in dementia.
Some dementias have been found to be able to be reversed with proper treatment.
In other forms of dementia, it is a progressive and permanent condition that becomes worse over time.
Dementia is a classification, or category, of many types of diseases and causes of this terrible disease.
The cause of the dementia and the type of dementia will help you to understand some basics and give you a clue as to what may lie ahead for you, the care giver.
It is important to understand that each part of the brain has a different function.
Each medical condition or injury that is determined to be the cause of this disease affects different parts of the brain.
That information is the key as to what to expect as the disease progresses.
Each individual will show some very specific signs and symptoms due to the cause of their dementia, depending on the part of the brain that is attacked.
Because everyone is different and responds differently, you will see some, but not all of the behaviors and physical or mental changes for each category.
A dementia overview and a basic understanding of which type of dementia and which areas of the brain are affected can give caregivers a better understanding of this disease.
This knowledge will empower, you, the caregiver, to plan and prepare and make educated decisions and responses as you provide care.
