Dementia Awareness Week.
According to Alzheimer’s Research UK there are around 820,000 people living with dementia in the UK.
The majority are older people, and incidence increases with age, with one in 20 over the age of 75, and one in five over the age of 85, affected. However, it is possible for younger people to have dementia, and dementias that are diagnosed before the age of 65 are known as 'early-onset'.
Dementia is a very hard illness not just for the patient but for family and friends that are close to the person.
Signs of dementia can be:
- Forgetting, not just an event or conversation, but that it happened at all.
- Not remembering what has been said to you so that it is impossible to carry on the conversation.
- Getting lost in a familiar place.
- Forgetting to attend appointments or events that are part of the normal routine of life.
- Losing items and being unable to retrace steps or think logically where they may be.
- Serious sleep disturbance and confusion about the time of day.
- Signs and symptoms which are uncharacteristic of you.
How to help prevent dementia.
On a positive note, there are many things that you can do now to help prevent dementia.
- 1 Good nutrition.
- 2 Regular Exercise.
- 3 Optimised Vitamin D Levels.
- 4 A good sleep pattern.
- 5 Stress Reduction and management.
- 6 Don’t smoke.
- 7 Reduce alcohol consumption.
- 7 Brain Training – there are lots of brain training games available nowadays.
- 8 Specific supplements can help, these are not listed as they would need to be checked with current levels and any medications taken.
How you can help someone living with dementia.
- Don't rush the person, allow them more time for the brain to process information.
- Keep things normal as far as possible, having a routine can really help.
- Avoid mentioning things that might make someone feel stupid eg, for forgetting something or being unable to do something they would normally do easily
- Encourage the person with dementia to keep up with hobbies and interests they have enjoyed in the past.
- Find meaningful activities that are enjoyable and allow the person to gain a sense of achievement.
- Use short, easy sentences.
- Smile and nod, body language is important.
How you can help someone living with dementia.
How you can help someone living with dementia.
- Allow more time for the brain to process information. Don’t rush them.
- Keep things normal as far as possible, having a routine can really help.
- Avoid mentioning things that might make someone feel stupid eg, for forgetting something or being unable to do something they would normally do easily
- Encourage the person with dementia to keep up with hobbies and interests they have enjoyed in the past.
- Find meaningful activities that are enjoyable and allow the person to gain a sense of achievement.
- Use short, easy sentences.
- Smile and nod, body language is important.
