LIVING WITH DEMENTIA

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about

Dementia is a general term used for progressive mental or cognitive decline

Dementia is a general term used for progressive mental or cognitive decline that has affected 47 million people globally; by 2050, this number is expected to increase to an estimated 131 million people.

Out of the various diseases that have dementia as one of their characteristics, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common. The progression of dementia (in Alzheimer’s disease) has been divided into seven stages as per the ‘Global Deterioration Scale (GDS)’ of primary degenerative dementia prepared by Dr. Riesberg and his team.

Stage 1 (No cognitive decline)

• The imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) scan of the brain might show some changes but the patient does not exhibit any of the cognitive signs and symptoms. 

Stage 2 (Very mild cognitive decline)

• The patient starts forgetting words or misplacing objects; this may go unnoticed by people around them. 
• It should be remembered that this stage might also occur due to the normal aging process.

Stage 3 (Mild cognitive decline)

• The patient suffers from short-term memory loss—forgetting what they just read and the names of new acquaintances. 
• They can’t make plans or organize things as earlier.
• They might frequently start misplacing and losing things.

Stage 4 (Moderate cognitive decline)

• The patient starts to lose interest in the things that they used to enjoy and avoids meeting people and, attending social events.
• Calculating simple expenses and adding up the financial bills becomes difficult.
• They become disoriented to time and place—they forget or figure out the present time, date and place
• The signs and symptoms of cognitive decline become clear to everyone around the patient. 
• Clinical diagnosis of dementia is most likely to be made at this stage.

Stage 5 (Moderately severe cognitive decline)

• The patient experiences major memory disturbances such as forgetting their phone number and address. 
• They may forget how to bath and face trouble while choosing and wearing clothes.

Stage 6 (Severe cognitive decline): 

• The patient loses his memory as much as that they fail to remember the names of closed ones and might mistake one person for another.
• They suffer from severe confusion and anxiety.
• As dementia worsens, they might need help to go to the bathroom.

Stage 7 (Very severe cognitive decline): 

• This is the final stage or end-stage of dementia. 
• The patient becomes completely dependent on other patients to carry even basic activities like eating, drinking, walking, and sitting. 
• There is loss of bladder and bowel control.
• Their ability to communicate is hampered drastically as they speak too little struggling with words. 
• It should be noted that the speed of progression through the stages of Alzheimer’s disease differs amongst patients. Not all patients will experience the same changes at each stage and the cognitive decline that occurs may overlap stages.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking