Diagnosing dementia can be more difficult than you can imagine. Medically, the patient needs to have at least two areas of mental functionality impaired to an extent where it interferes with their everyday life. However, diagnosis is just the beginning as treating dementia can be even more challenging. Here is a look at some of the treatment options available for dementia patients.

 Treatment for Dementia
There is often no cure for most forms of dementia. Treatment relies on the management of the condition, to ensure that the progression can be impeded. With proper treatment, patients can live a relatively normal life for a number of years.

Cholinesterase inhibitors- These medications are used for the treatment of Alzheimer s disease. They are chemical agents that boost the memory and judgment of the patient. The same is also an effective medication for those suffering from Parkinson s disease and Lewy body dementia.
Therapy- Making small changes to some aspects of life of the patient can often yield good results. For instance, clearing the clutter and noise in the house can be an effective way of helping dementia patients deal with their condition. Similarly, creating a safe environment at home with little chance of severe accidents, will ensure the safety of the patient.
Stress in caregivers of dementia patients
Dementia patients need to be cared for, ideally by a close family member such as a spouse. However, these caregivers undergo a lot of stress while providing support to the patient. For instance, Alzheimer s patients often do not recognize their caregiver who may also be their spouse. Here are some burdens that caregivers have to deal with.

Anger- The sense of fury towards the patient can be strong after years of providing care. They may also be frustrated with the fact that the affected person is unable to perform simple everyday jobs, such as brushing their teeth or tying their shoelaces.
Anxiety- A sense of hopelessness regarding the future is common. It is also the fear of what new challenges the next day might bring.
Depression- Seeing their loved one s mental state deteriorating with each passing day can be difficult to handle and pushes some caregivers into depression.
With such continuous emotional and physical stress, caregivers often fall sick themselves. This is why it is necessary to maintain a bright outlook and remember that a dementia patient can only get well if they have the full support of the caregiver. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Treating Dementia - Things You Should Know!

Dementia cannot be singularly regarded as a specific disease, but rather indicates a group of symptoms associated with your memory, cognitive thinking, and social abilities, up to the point where daily functioning gets affected. In most cases, dementia steadily worsens over time (progressive dementias). Dementia is not to be confused with memory loss alone; because it is natural with old people to experience memory loss, but that does not necessarily mean they have dementia. If the reason is dementia, then you may require medical treatment.

Causes

Dementias are generally caused either by damage to or changes in the nerve cells operating in the brain. The causes can be grouped differently based on the type of dementia experienced and the part of the brain affected. While some causes can be reversed with effective treatment, others, unfortunately, cannot.

The most common causes of dementia which cannot be reversed include:

1. Alzheimer's disease
2. Vascular dementia
3. Parkinson's disease
4. Frontotemporal dementia
5. Dementia with Lewy (dementia which is neurodegenerative and progressive in nature) bodies
6. Severe head injuries

Other irreversible causes which are relatively rarer than usual include:

1. Huntington's disease (breakage of the brain's nerve cells)
2. Creutzfeldt-jakob disease (irreversible and fatal brain disease)
3. Multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
4. Infections like syphilis
5. Leukoencephalopathies (diseases affecting the brain's'white' areas)
6. Brain injuries
7. Multiple system atrophy

Causes of dementia which can be treated include:

1. Hypothyroidism
2. Heavy metal poisoning
3. Certain brain tumors
4. Chronic alcoholism
5. Hiv/aids
6. Vitamin b12 deficiency
7. Medicinal side effects or abnormal drug reactions
8. Normal pressure hydrocephalus
9. Certain cases of encephalitis

Symptoms

Symptoms of dementia include:

1. Memory loss
2. Difficulty finding the right words
3. Difficulty exercising judgments, especially during emergencies
4. Inability to recall particular events or to recognize people and places
5. Depression or other mood disorders, in addition to symptoms like uncontrolled aggression or constant agitation.

Causes and Symptoms of Dementia

Dementia is a general classification of brain disease that causes a long haul and the frequent steady abatement in the capacity to think and recall. This causes negative  influence a man's every day functioning. Other normal manifestations include issues with dialect and a lessening in motivation. An individual's sense of awareness is not influenced. It affects the person s thinking, language, sense of judgement and behavior. Major cases of dementia are degenerative in nature and cannot be treated.


Homeopathy is an effective and trusted form of medicine used in the treatment of dementia. A holistic approach is used in homeopathy, which ensures the removal of all signs and symptoms of any disorder. Homeopathic medicines do not only treat dementia, but also address the underlying causes.


Here is a list of important homeopathic medicines and the cases of dementia when they are used.


Nux Vom: This homeopathic medicine is used in cases of dementia where the patient is extremely sensitive to the words and actions of others and is always seeking attention. There is suicidal tendency in the patient and he also is inclined towards killing friends. Although suicidal, the patient does not have the courage to perform the act. Extreme irritation is noticed. The patient becomes vindictive and quarrelsome in nature.
Mercurius: This homeopathic medicine is given to patients with dementia who have lost all sense of decency. They become filthy and develop a groveling mentality. Memory weakens to a great extent and the patient has problems with vision, unpleasant breath odour and a heavily coated tongue.
Ignatia: This homeopathic medicine is given to people who have extreme sensitivity of the mind, which further leads to depression and grief. This may occur due to failure in love relationships.
Calcaria Carb: Calcaria Carb is an effective homeopathic medicine used in cases of dementia where the brain and other organs do not develop properly. The patient becomes forgetful and very slow in learning something.
Lycopodium: This medicine is used when the dementia affected people experience great depression, become despondent and constantly worry about themselves and their activities. They become fearful, irritable and angry. Constipation is also observed in such cases.
Staphisagria: Staphisagria is used to treatment dementia characterized by sleeplessness. The patient becomes cowardly and is full of shamefulness, disgust, humiliation and shyness. He would rather be alone than have company.
Chamomilla: This is another homeopathic medicine for treating dementia with acute sensitiveness. Irritation and peevishness are common, and the patient tends to get angry very easily.


Among the various forms of medicines and treatments for dementia, homeopathy is the most natural and effective remedy. There are homeopathic medicines developed for all types of dementia cases, which work proficiently. However, it is still advisable that without consulting your doctor, you must never take a medicine. 

Homeopathy A Safe Treatment for Dementia

Dementia is a general classification of a brain disease that causes a long haul and frequently steady abatement in the capacity to think and recall that is sufficiently incredible to influence a man's everyday  functioning. Other normal manifestations incorporate passionate issues, issues with dialect, and a lessening in motivation. An individual's awareness is not influenced. The most common example of dementia is the Alzheimer's disease.

Physiotherapy for Dementia:
A patient with dementia can benefit from physiotherapy regardless of the possibility that the patient can't perceive their own family. Physiotherapy, notwithstanding, can be of good advantage to the individual who has dementia and also their family and parental figures at different stages. The principle explanation behind this is that recovery administrations can help the dementia patient to be as utilitarian as would be prudent for whatever length of time that is conceivable. Here are 5 ways physiotherapy benefits an Alzheimer's patient:

Physiotherapy can keep up the Alzheimer's patient's freedom and mobility as much as one could expect reasonably. A physiotherapist can outline a home activity program and work intimately with relatives to administer to the Alzheimer's patient.
Physiotherapists, as independent experts, embrace much detailed, separately custom-made appraisals of the disorders, action confinements and restrictions imposed upon individuals with dementia.
The caretakers of individuals with dementia regularly show weakness when contrasted with their same aged companions. Physiotherapy helps with diminishing the weight of consideration by instructing caregivers to provide encouragement and upliftment to individuals with dementia.
Patients with dementia are always at a risk of falling down and hurting themselves. Poor balance accounts for the danger of falls. This can be worked upon and improved by physiotherapy driven exercises. Exercise can have a huge and positive effect on behavioral and mental indications of dementia, enhancing psychological capacity and mindset, which can decrease the doses of strong medicines. Special exercise routines are assigned to the patients which help improve their body balance while walking.    
Physiotherapy has crucial influence in advancing and keeping up portability of individuals with dementia. It assumes a basic part in the end of life consideration by overseeing situations, seating and complicated muscle contracture. Individuals with dementia regularly experience issues in communicating pain. Pain influences cognizance, inspiration and reaction to any intervention. Physiotherapists are specialists in recognizing and treating pain in dementia patients and give training to care home staff and caregivers of the patients.
Physiotherapy is very important for dementia patients. Regular physiotherapy sessions are beneficial for patients for improvement in condition.

5 Ways Physiotherapy Helps in Dementia

Dementia refers to the progressive loss of memory in a human being. It does not refer to any particular disease. It is rather a cumulative representation of symptoms which signify that the person is losing his or her memory. Dementia occurs in seven stages. Read on to read more about them:

In the first stage, there is no cognitive decline and the person is mentally sound. There is no memory loss as well.
In the second stage, there is a very mild cognitive decline leading to normal forgetfulness that is often associated with progressing age.
In the third stage, there is a mild cognitive decline. The person has an increased forgetfulness and may find it difficult to concentrate on things.
In the fourth stage, there is moderate cognitive decline and the person starts forgetting even the most recent events. They cannot even travel alone or manage their own finances.
In the fifth stage, there is moderately severe cognitive decline. The person going through this stage often requires help even with their daily activities. People tend to forget even the most common things like phone and email passwords.
In the sixth stage, there is severe cognitive decline. This stage is also called middle dementia and there is prominent memory loss. People cannot even count from 1 to 10. Their speech becomes slurry. They also start having delusions.
In the seventh stage, there is very severe cognitive decline. This stage is also called late dementia. The psychomotor skills are also lost at this stage and the person may not even be able to walk properly.
Some of the early signs of dementia are listed below:

In the initial days of dementia, the person usually tends to get confused when it comes to choosing the right words. This makes them take much longer time to conclude their speech.
There might also be a change in the mood of the person.
Depression is also one of the early signs.

The person will have a tendency to forget even the most recent events that took place in his or her life. This means that they might remember what happened ten years before but they might not remember what they did in the morning.
Early signs also include failure to sense directions. People often tend to forget their addresses and the landmarks and thus become lost when they travel alone.
Confusion is also one of the common signs and this is directly correlated to the loss of memory because when a person cannot remember familiar faces, it leads to a lot of confusion within his own mind.
So, if you suspect that someone in your house is suffering from dementia, then you must look out for these early signs and seek medical help immediately. Early treatment can keep the condition from worsening.

Dementia - Stages and Early Signs!

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes a degradation and eventually death of the brain cells. People with Alzheimer's disease suffer from a memory loss. There is also a progressive decline in the cognitive capacity of the brain.Today, Alzheimer's disease and dementia have become almost synonymous with old age. It is a heartbreaking experience to see aged people with Alzheimer's disease. They have little or no memory of the present time, of their loved people or the things around them. 

The Alzheimer's disease starts off as a mild condition and then gradually progresses through stages. In this article, we will discuss the different stages associated with Alzheimer's disease.

The first stage: This stage shows no significant changes in the affected person. Thus, without any diagnostic tests (such as a PET scan), it will be difficult to detect the condition in the initial stage.
The second stage: This stage brings about some changes in the person. The person might misplace things or may even forget words (something that is often brushed aside as a small problem). However, this seldom interferes with their daily activities. Like the first stage, this stage, in most cases, goes unnoticed.
The third stage: This is the stage that brings about visible changes in the person concerned such as
The person experiences difficulties in trying to organize things.
They forget things they have read, or heard just a few seconds back.
In some cases, the person may not be able to recollect a person's name they have just met.
Some people may end up repeating the same question over and over again.
The fourth stage: This stage marks a further decline in the mental health. The person gets forgetful about himself or herself. They also start mixing up with the dates and months or makes major goof up while cooking (misses out on ingredients).
The fifth stage: The mental deterioration reaches a step further. The person slowly starts forgetting about the present, such as their address, the time of the day, their profession and even phone numbers.
The sixth stage: The problem is getting worse. Hallucination is slowly setting in. The person is starting to forget people and their faces, mixing one identity with another.
The seventh stage: The final and unfortunately, the worst stage. The person stops talking to people, eating, or even walking. They stay confined to their world, oblivious of their immediate surrounding.
Dealing with an Alzheimer patient

In addition to the treatment and medication, a person with Alzheimer's disease needs the love, care, and support of their close and dear ones. Isolating them will only worsen the situation.
It may not be easy to deal with an Alzheimer's patient as the disease progresses, but do not be rude to them. Give them the confidence.
Always keep a paper containing their name, address and emergency contact number in their wallet.
People after the age of 50 should undergo regular health check ups.

Alzheimer's - How The Disease Progresses?

Don't wait any longer, manage your Alzheimer's Disease online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Alzheimer's Disease - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES