Medical Essay on Dementia and Alzheimer

The words used when one is asked what Dementia is will be horribly tragic, scary, slow, sad, maddening. Most people who have watched loved ones suffer from the disease that ultimately leads to death. As people grow old, it is normal for them to experience a memory loss. However, some cases can be much more serious, which may lead to severe causes. During the period of the disease, signs, and symptoms are usually nonexistent, and they tend to develop slowly over as times goes, often going unnoticed until they become more severe. Diagnosing the disease to some extent it's difficult.

Loss of Memory occurs in patients, where by he/she may have trouble remembering things which may lead to short-term memory loss and only memories in the far past are able to be recalled. A person with Alzheimers can become disoriented and can get lost easily when out on their own. the person can be easily irritated by seemingly insignificant things. Cognitive deterioration also occurs, with the person losing the ability to understand spoken the language or recall the meanings of different words (Grayson, "Recognizing Alzheimer's" 1). Despite these common symptoms, making a diagnosis is difficult since Alzheimer's patients can display the same symptoms as a head injury or depression.

There are also people with various factors that increase the risk of a person becoming affected by the disease. The major role player in acquiring the disease is the age barrier. Since the disease is largely found in elderly people, the general age of onset is around age 70s.

However, it does affect people with age bracket between the forties, fifties, and sixties, but this is rare. When Alzheimer's disease occurs prior to the age of sixty-five, it is referred to as early onset Alzheimers.

Sometimes symptoms of dementia can vary greatly, at least two of the following core mental functions must be significantly impaired to conclude its dementia:

Memory loss

Communication problem.

Ability to focus and pay attention to things they are doing.

Being Reasoning and judgmental

Forgetfulness and Confusion.

One can have at least occasional memory loss from time to time. Usually, a person can forget what he/she was doing a few minutes ago, forgetting if you turned the stove off. Such lapses are considered normal, but when they become a recurring theme, its a more serious problem.

I dont understand why Leo was referred to a nursing home when he was in a position to pay a nurse to take care of him at his home. Was is it a right move for the judge to make such a decision? It wasnt a right decision for the court to make such a move. When Leo is taken to the nursing home, he does not get the benefits of services and supports that would have improved the quality of his life at his own home, such as:

Home Health Aide

Transportation

Senior Resource Center

The family is the most important resource to Leo, despite having his own money and home. It is demonstrated when Kyle visits his grandfather and the end up bonding together. Kyle seats with his grandfather watching television and even purchased Leos favorite cereal, when everyone else had either abandoned Leo or was only interested in the money from his estate.

While most changes in the brain that cause dementia are permanent and worsen over time, thinking and memory problems caused by the following conditions may improve when the condition is treated or addressed:

Depression

Medication side effects

Excess use of alcohol

Thyroid problems

Vitamin deficiencies

Social isolation

Social isolation its relevant to the context that, it's a powerful risk factor for the mental and emotional decline in older adults. Leo appears to be socially isolated until he meets Kyle and spends more time with Kyle. Leo being an elderly person, he needs to spend more time with his family to get the support and not feel isolated.

Loneliness and isolation is a problem for lots of older people, but it's particularly difficult if they are also struggling with dementia

What is isolation?This is where a person lacks social contact with friends, family or the community.

What is loneliness?

People can experience loneliness differently for example, someone can feel lonely, even if they have regular contact with friends and family, while others may have limited contact with people and not feel lonely. There are two types of loneliness: emotional and social loneliness. Emotional loneliness is when you feel lonely because you lack a significant other who you can form a close bond with. Social loneliness is caused by a lack of a regular group of friends or social network. Leo is suffering from both social and emotional loneliness.

Causes of loneliness and isolation

Lack of face-to-face interaction

These days it can be tougher to have regular face-to-face contact, especially if family members dont live nearby. The Alzheimers Society report on loneliness found more than one in 10 people spoke to friends of family face-to-face less than once a fortnight. This type of contact is important because these conversations provide visual and sensory clues which can help them form memories more easily. Leo is left alone in his home till his grandson Kyle visits him, this affects him.

Infrequent telephone contact

Where face-to-face contact isnt possible, having regular phone calls can help. However, if someone with dementia struggles to follow conversations on the phone, doesnt manage well with technology or simply doesnt like speaking on the phone, it can make it harder to talk, and the chances of isolation and loneliness increase.

Lack of meaningful relationships

As people get older, they may find that their friends and family move away, go to live in residential homes and pass away. This can lead to a shrinking of their social circle and less contact with people. On top of that, if they dont have a particularly meaningful relationship with their neighbor, which can be common in larger towns and cities it can lead to loneliness. Nearly a quarter of people with dementia admit they speak to their neighbor less than once a month.

No confidence and fear of stigma

This can be a real issue for people with dementia, preventing them from talking to people, getting out, and even letting their neighbors know about their diagnosis because they worry about being judged. And this isnt helped by people not feeling confident about how to talk to someone with dementia, with 35% of people admitting they would not feel comfortable talking to a person with dementia.

Isolation from activities

Not involving oneself to daily and favorite or regular activities can contribute to loneliness in people with dementia. Sometimes this is because they cannot do either that activity anymore (either because of dementia or because of other issues such as illness or mobility problems) or because they do not have the confidence to go out to do it, worrying that they become confused or lost.

What effects does an addicted parent have on an adolescent?

Addiction affects family functioning. It changes how families relate and the roles that each member plays. Parents involving in drug abuse may lead to child trauma, Because parents who abuse alcohol or other drugs are more likely to be involved with domestic violence, divorce, unemployment, , their ability to parent effectively is severely compromised. . The child might develop stress-related health problems like gastrointestinal disorders, headaches, migraines, or asthma, causing them to miss school. Child abuse and neglect have been linked to parental alcohol abuse. Kyle is an adolescent who is basically being thrown into young adulthood. On his own, he left his drug addict mother and is now living with Mike, Jackie, and their two young children.

Reference

http://www.coaf.org/professionals/effects%20.htm