Rehab Select Blog

Dementia is a brain disorder that results in the gradual loss of cognitive functioning, including thinking, memory and reasoning skills, that interferes with a persons daily life and activities.

While dementia is most common among older people, it is not a normal part of aging. Signs and symptoms of dementia begin to appear when nerve cells, called neurons, stop working.

We all lose a certain number of neurons with aging, but people with dementia lose many more than the average person. So what are the telltale signs and symptoms of dementia?

Communication typically becomes progressively more difficult for people who suffer with Alzheimer’s disease. If you are caring for elderly parents who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you may notice that they struggle to find the right words as they try to express themselves, ask questions, or answer them.

Alzheimer's disease, while most difficult for the person who has the disease, is very hard on their family as well. It is often referred to as a family disease, due to the affects it has on an Alzheimer’s patient’s loved ones as they witness and manage the long, slow process of decline that is the hallmark of this disease.

If your family is caring for elderly parents or other loved ones affected by the disease, here are some tips on coping with Alzheimer’s in your family.

If you are concerned that an aging parent seem more forgetful than usual or perhaps a bit confused, discussing those concerns with them is important for a number of reasons.

Perhaps the most important of these is that such symptoms should be evaluated by your parent’s healthcare provider as soon as possible.

Communication problems are one of the most common issues faced by people who suffer from dementia. They may have trouble following a conversation due to an inability to stay focused or memory problems. They may have difficulty answering questions due to a decline in reasoning skills and/or judgment. They may also have word retrieval issues, making them unable to find the right words to express themselves at times.

Dementia is a very difficult disease. It is, of course, most difficult for the people afflicted with it, but the difficulty of dealing with dementia in a parent runs a very close second.

This is especially true if you are a caregiver for that parent. On top of the emotional stress that comes with watching your parent’s health and cognitive function slipping away, there is the mental and physical strain of handling the anxiety, depression, forgetfulness, impaired judgment, agitation and other behavioral issues and symptoms that are characteristic of dementia on a daily basis.

Dementia of any origin can be a devastating diagnosis for families to receive. Although some forms of dementia are not typically preventable, there are other types – such as vascular dementia, which is directly related to cardiovascular health – that may be avoided.

A strong memory depends on the health and vitality of the brain. There are a number of ways to exercise the brain that will improve both memory and mental performance, and these strategies can serve to help an aging brain keep its edge longer or even aid in slowing the progression of conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's.

Many of us, especially as we reach middle age and beyond, begin to become more forgetful than we once were. For most, this problem is fairly mild, and can be attributed to simple age-related memory loss. For others, the issue may be related to health problems, medications or excessive stress.

Is it possible to avoid memory loss with aging? Most of us experience a bit of trouble remembering things as we get older – a condition commonly called age-related memory loss. However, a lot of medical evidence out there shows that just how badly we're affected is largely dependent on how well we take care of ourselves – and our brains – as we age.