2023-06-04 14:21:01
A new survey revealed that a third of people who notice symptoms of dementia in themselves or a loved one keep silent about it for a month or more.Yahoo News“.
The survey, which was recently published by the Alzheimer’s Society of London, showed that 15% of the 1,100 patients and carers surveyed brought their feedback immediately, while 11% did not mention anything about those symptoms.
The survey included newly diagnosed dementia patients and their caregivers, as well as potential dementia patients and their caregivers.
The survey found that nearly a quarter of those surveyed had waited more than six months before seeking medical help.
The most common reason for silence about these symptoms was not due to anxiety and fear about the state of health, which is generally escalating, but rather to the fact that the injured and those who provided care for them were not sure whether these symptoms were related to natural aging, or that they were related to diseases. dementia.
For example, Tala, the daughter of the American star, Bruce Willis, was informed that her father had “aphasia” last year, which caused him to lose the ability to speak, read, write, and understand speech.
Tala added, in an article published in “Vogue” magazine, in late May, that he was later diagnosed with frontal temporal dementia, which is a comprehensive term for a group of brain disorders that mainly affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.
These affected areas of the brain are generally associated with personality, behavior and language.
People between the ages of 45 and 64 are the age group most at risk, according to the National Institute on Aging.
Like many other caregivers, Tala said in her article that signs of her father’s cognitive decline were evident at that time, yet she attributed his “vague lack of response” to “a loss of hearing” due to the nature of his work as an actor who performed difficult roles in action and thriller films.
“I’ve known something was wrong for a long time,” she admitted, explaining that “family members often try to convince each other that (DIE HARD) movies have messed with my dad’s ears.”
She added, “Later the lack of response widened, and sometimes I took it personally.”
For her part, Kate Lee, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, said in a press release about the study’s findings that confusion and concern about “dementia stigma” delay diagnosis and treatment.
“We cannot continue to avoid the issue. We need to confront dementia head-on,” she added.
How do we differentiate between aging and dementia?
says d. John Schumann, executive medical director of Oak Street Health, a chain of primary care clinics that serve the elderly: “Dementia is definitely not normal aging.”
David Rubin, MD, director of the Multicampus Program in Geriatrics at the University of California School of Medicine, agrees. He likens aging, which is a normal biological phenomenon, to “a computer processor in your brain that isn’t running at the same speed.”
And he gives an example, explaining: “When there is a word or phrase on the tip of your tongue and you find yourself saying (give me two minutes and I will remember it), this is a very common condition that fits with the symptoms of normal aging.”
As for dementia, it is an umbrella term for a wide range of disorders that involve a gradual or continuous loss of intellectual performance, ranging from mild to severe, and Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of these disorders.
While some cognitive ‘slowing’ can occur as part of the normal aging process, the symptoms of dementia are distinct and indicative of the disease, according to health experts.
According to the National Institute on Aging, signs that you or a loved one may have dementia include:
Asking the same question repeatedly.
You have trouble following directions, such as using prescriptions.
Disorientation and loss of a person in a place or area that he knows well.
The patient becomes increasingly confused about time, places, and people.
Not taking care of yourself, including eating poorly, forgetting to shower, or acting unsafe.
What do you do if you are concerned about dementia?
A person with signs of dementia should contact their doctor, who will ask questions such as when did the symptoms begin, whether they are getting worse and to what extent, and is there any interference with daily activities?
The physician may choose to refer the patient for a neuropsychological examination, which can shed more light on the health status or simply provide a history of basic cognitive functioning.
“Everyone has a slip up once in a while,” Schumann says, citing the example of a single incident of putting his keys somewhere other than usual.
“But other symptoms, such as difficulty balancing a checkbook and remembering how to dress and care for clothes, are often signs of dementia,” he continued.
For his part, Robin believes that it is necessary not to think that a diagnosis of dementia can be frightening, explaining that early knowledge is very useful for the patient, as it allows him to arrange some of his affairs and affairs before the condition deteriorates.
And he concludes by saying: “Early diagnosis gives a glimmer of hope to patients, as there are some medications that can help sufferers to mitigate the effects of the disease.”
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