This Is The Life Of Patients With Dementia

The life of relatives and patients with dementia is not easy. There is often a lack of understanding of the disease.

The life of a patient with dementia is not easy for him or his family. Today we are going to explain the problems patients with dementia have and how we can improve their quality of life.

What are patients with dementia?

Patients with dementia can suffer from various diseases: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Binswanger… They all have dementia in common, that is, the loss or weakening of mental faculties that progressively occur.

The dementias are difficult to cope with for both the patient and family members. Changes in memory and reason, as well as some behavioral disorders, can make the situation more and more difficult.

Today we are going to find out what aspects we need to consider when dealing with patients with dementia . With a few keys we can make their lives (and that of us and their loved ones) much better.

Depression in demented patients

Depression is a disease that usually affects mentally ill patients. Due to the lack of understanding of not knowing what is happening to the patient with dementia, the memory losses that disorient him, as well as the lack of understanding of what people around him may have, lead to discouragement and melancholy.

Many families do not know how to deal with a patient with dementia. This causes some errors, of which these are only examples:

• You treat the patient like a child : you speak to him as if he were not there and didn’t know anything. You don’t talk to him like an adult, either.

• They yell at and abuse him: Yelling at a person with dementia for doing something they don’t know why they are doing makes the person with dementia feel guilty and will not help them understand what is really happening to them.
• They ignore him : not speaking from adult to adult, yelling at him and ignoring many things the patient is saying creates loneliness and isolation in patients with dementia. This loneliness can lead to depression.

The demented patient must feel accompanied and be affectionate. The family must strive to replace the person with dementia and understand that circumstances are harsh for everyone.

You need to feel independent

It will help a patient with dementia feel that they can be independent. Because dementia does not mean that the person who is suffering needs all of our care. There are many things he can do all by himself without our help, and we have to make that possible.

For example, if the patient is having trouble buttoning shirt buttons, try buying clothes without buttons. If he cannot tie his shoelaces, shoes without shoelaces are ideal.

In the event that the person has severe memory loss, there are some measures we can take. For example, show the patient where the bathroom is without having to do it with letters that say “bathroom” on the toilet door. An image or symbol is less derogatory.

The person with dementia can feel disoriented and confused by loss of memory and a sudden inability to do something as simple as tying shoes. If they can do these simple things again by cleverly buying shoes and shirts , patients with dementia will feel much better and more capable.

Don’t lock the patient up!

The relatives are often afraid that the person with dementia will take to the streets because they could get lost. The solution, however, is not to keep the patient at home permanently to monitor him there and condemn him to idleness. This leads to depression.

In the event that no one can look after the demented patient for long, you can hire someone to do this. The person with dementia can easily get lost and if left home alone, for some reason they may go out and not know how to return.

However, it is important that the person with dementia enjoys a good time with their family. Going for a walk, going to the park or sunbathing in the garden – activities that you will have a lot of fun with.

It is important for people with dementia to have the feeling that they have the support of their loved ones without noticing them around them all the time. This will help them avoid isolation and they will not feel so alone.

Allow yourself and the patient time out

A very good option is to take the patient with dementia to a group where such patients are stimulated and memory loss is slowed down and behavior disorders are improved.

In these centers, called “day care” or “day care,” the person with dementia will interact with other people with the same condition. In this way they feel accompanied, can exchange ideas with people who understand their problems and frustrations, and make new friends.

The life of a patient with dementia is not easy. He suffers from many limitations that he cannot control and even less understand. It is therefore imperative that we give all of our support and do everything we can to help them.