Coping up with a Parent with Alzheimer's Disease

What is Dementia? Dementia is one form of cognitive dysfunction wherein the affected area of the brain can cause serious problems to a person’s memory, language, and attention and sometimes can cause an inability to solve simple problems and perform daily activities. Unfortunately, dementia is incurable and progressive although the progress can be a little bit slowed down by medical treatments. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 35.6 million people worldwide affected by dementia as of April 2012 and each year 7.7 million new cases are found. Alzheimer’s disease, which is a common form of dementia, contributes to 60% - 70% of the cases. Signs and Symptoms of Dementia Although dementia can occur in younger people, this syndrome mainly affects the older population, but it is not considered part of aging. Forgetfulness is the most common symptom at an early stage. As dementia progresses, affected persons become more disoriented forgetting even the most recent e

Aging is an inevitable matter everybody has to go through. As people age, they experience difficulties even with simple tasks of daily living. Even if they refuse to admit some of their incapability, elders need all the assistance they can get either from family or professionals. As your parents go through this period of late life, crucial decision has to be made as to the best senior care to provide them. The earlier you prepare for it, the better chance your elders have to live a more comfortable old age existence. Even with the promise of “home away from home” living accommodation most retirement communities offer, there’s no substitute for family members taking care of their elders at home unless, of course, your loved ones need serious medical attention. Home care for your aging parents can be daunting but it’s still the most rewarding option. What preparations should you need when you decide on home care for your elders? Communicate with Your Parents As people age, they beco

Coping with a Parent with Alzheimer's Disease Aging concerns a lot of changes, physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral. Often, the emotional and behavioral changes are referred to as elders’ second childhood, and being forgetful is just a normal part of the aging process. Without you knowing it, these changes could be the earlier signs of mental disease that should have been detected at an early stage. What would you do if your parent is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease? Would you send him to a nursing home or provide him with care in the comfort of your house? Whatever arrangement you decide for your loved one, he surely needs all the love, care, and understanding he can get, and you can only provide the necessary attention if you understand what the disease is all about and what changes might occur. What is Alzheimer’s Disease? Alzheimer’s disease in layman’s terms is a slowly progressive disease of the brain usually characterized by a decline in memory, comprehension, l