28/05/2014
CARE OF ALZHEIMER PATIENTS
Alzheimer disease is a disease which affects the nervous system resulting in death of brain cells leading to loss of memory and loss of ability to perform body functions.
Cause of Alzheimer is broadly unknown but prevention of diabetes and heart disease might play a role. Essentially it is a disease more common now a days because of increased longitivity.
The cognitive decline is in at least TWO of the five symptom areas listed below (from guidelines jointly produced by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association):11
1. Worsened ability to take in and remember new information, for example:
"Repetitive questions or conversations
Misplacing personal belongings
Forgetting events or appointments
Getting lost on a familiar route."
2. Impairments to reasoning, complex tasking, exercising judgment:
3. Impaired visuospatial abilities (but not, for example, due to eye sight problems):
"Inability to recognize faces or common objects or to find objects in direct view
Inability to operate simple implements, or orient clothing to the body."
4. Impaired speaking, reading and writing:
"Difficulty thinking of common words while speaking, hesitations
Speech, spelling, and writing errors."
5. Changes in personality and behavior, for example:
Out-of-character mood changes, including agitation; less interest, motivation or initiative; apathy; social withdrawal
Loss of empathy
Compulsive, obsessive or socially unacceptable behavior.
Diagnosis can be done based on above symptoms and MRI, CT etc.
Treatment consists of certain medications.
Despite all this the disease is progressive and in a few years it deteriorates. When the disease progresses patient needs lot of love care and compassion and proper diet to keep the patient well nourished.
Now a days in the fast changjng world where nuclear families are there, work keeps everybody busy, there is lack of spaces in the small flats and care givers are difficult to find. Institutionalized care is becoming more and more popular.
At Vardaan Rehabilitation and Senior Citizen Center the Alzheimer patients are adopted by the Center and under a simple loving and caring environment they are looked after very well and it is ensured that they remain active, nutritionist taken care of and prevention of bed sores is done. We do not believe in over medicating but we believe in nurturing them in a normal way along with periodic checks with the doctor and change in medication as advised.
