Dementia in Elderly
Dementia is one the most common mental illnesses.
Age Care India held a session on ‘Memory Impairment and Dementia in Elderly’. The keynote speaker was Professor Madhuri Bihari, Head of the Department of Neurology, AIIMS. Professor Bihari talked about the general symptoms, causes and cures for dementia. She advised everyone to have a healthy and active lifestyle.
Dementia has many causes and consequences. Dementia could lead to arthritis, diabetes, heart attacks etcetera. And thus it creates a whole lot of problems. Dementia doesn’t occur suddenly. Dementia is a broad category of brain diseases that causes a gradual decrease in ability to think and remember which affects daily life activities. Following are the symptoms of Dementia:
Prof Madhuri Bihari giving her lecture
• Not being able to comprehend what other person is talking about.
• Not being able to make simple calculations.
• Change in demeanour or behaviour.
• Not being able to find simple places at home.
• Not being able to follow multiple instructions.
• Not being able to follow directions.
• Problem with planning.
• Hallucinations- see people or weird creatures.
A person suffering from Dementia gets frozen in time. For example if someone gets dementia at the age of 60 and lives till the age of 90, he thinks he is 60 all along and acts like that. This causes a lot of embarrassment. Sometimes they act as if their daughter is their wife and their wife is their mother.
Dr. J.C. Batra
They have great difficulty in recognising visual images. They think their reflection in the mirror is another person and hence it is advisable not to have any mirrors in their room. An illiterate person is more likely to suffer from dementia as compared to a literate one.
Causes of dementia can vary according to lifestyle. Following are the principle causes:
• Blood supply to the brain gets hampered.
• Generalised diminished supply of Oxygen to the brain.
• Repeated injuries to the brain.
• Tumour in brain.
• Low level of acetyl Collin.
Shri D.R. Kaarthikayen
People suffering from dementia get depressed and withdrawn. It mainly occurs at the latter stages of life. It is estimated that 5% of people above the age of 65 suffer from it. It is predominant in men as compared to women.
Precautions that one could take to evade or avoid dementia are mostly lifestyle changes.
• Playing brainy games.
• Multi-tasking.
• Eating food rich in anti-oxidants.
• Eating coloured foods like red capsicum.
Having a healthy and active lifestyle ensures, mostly, that you don’t have to suffer from dementia.
