Your loved ones are losing their memory? Here are some tips to secure their lives. Dementia,Alzheimer's

Pakistan is the sixth most populated country in the world with dementia cases. I can say it's hard to see your loved ones suffering from this. We really need to aware of this. The purpose of writing this is just to aware people of how it feels to have a person in your home suffering from all this condition, don't even know his own name so how can yours?

It is estimated that about 150,000 - 200,000 are patients of dementia in Pakitan. Also, women are at a greater risk of developing this more than men

What is dementia? What is Alzheimer's?

The very simple way to understand is that Dementia is actually the inability to recognize things in your daily life and Alzheimers is the most common cause of dementia, it's a  progressive disease, and a person starts to lose the ability to speak, think, etc.  And the age could be above 60 and this can be varied.

I always find it better to explain a thing to people through personal experience because you cannot feel a thing unless you are facing it.

My grandmother is a patient of Alzheimer's. Progressively, this condition is getting severe. It really hurts when people you love the most start to forget you, your name, even their own.

Symptoms

Let me share some symptoms 

1. Imagining

Patients with this problem imagine a lot. Sometimes, it starts to scare us.

For example

    Sitting in the same room, that person starts to tell you that there is someone sitting with us. Also starts to talk to the person that is being imagined.

First, it scares us a lot but it is normal in this. They imagine a lot.

2. Memory loss

Its very common as the disease itself describes this as a major symptom. They cannot recognize friends, family, even how much stronger bond they had with them in the past years.

They sometimes cannot remember their own home, they claim that they want to go somewhere else, etc. They cannot remember how to switch on the light, how to reach a particular room in their own house, etc.

What I observe is people who are surviving through this disease mostly live in their past, they cannot remember the recent situations that they encounter.

It's hard to understand they can forget anything but they can remember the events that happened decades ago and at the same time they cannot remember that they have eaten something even before five minutes.

3. Mood swings

People with Alzheimer's disease have mood swings. Sometimes, they are laughing without any reason. They can get easily angry at any time. If the surrounding is normal, they can easily get frustrated, angry, worried, etc.

For example

      When they dwell on their past and remember someone who had done something bad to them and they start to yell at you for that event and you do not even know the situation, what had happened to them or they become worried because of their kids that have grown up now but for them, they are those school-going kids, crying for food.

4. Difficulty in speaking or doing work

   As the age progresses, they face difficulty in speaking during a conversation with you, or doing a very common thing.

They cannot hear properly. It is hard to deal with when they are imaging the whole surrounding and you are trying to convince them that there is nobody around us and at the same time, they cannot hear.

5. Wandering

  It happens a lot. They cannot sit at one place. Especially, in the dark or at night, they start to wander around the rooms, they can check all the rooms all alone.

And that is the toughest time when they do not sleep and still imagining the situations.

Early symptoms

Those I've shared above are the progressive ones that I observe but there are some that indicate warning. If you start to observe the forgetfulness, inability to do work properly, become upset without any reason also with the passage of time, age then you need to check yourself.

Causes

 Lifestyle plays important role.  A lot of stress can be a reason. The state of being loneliness can make you lose memory and other abilities 

Obesity, lack of exercise, smoking.

It is said that foods such as bread, pasta, cheese or processed food, etc can lead to this.

Past head injury

Poor sleeping patterns 

How to manage:

Can we correct them when there is nothing to worried?

It is better not to argue with them.

Arguments make them angry. Whatever they are saying, you need to admit it. We should not correct them because it creates more confusion in their minds.

There can never be a solution by getting rude. It's very hard to control yourself when they repeat questions and doing something that is not correct.

If you cannot control it then try to speak less so that it does not trigger their mood.

By giving them a stress-free environment. The past years of stress can be the result of it so give them a stress-free environment to make them calm and relax.

As there is no cure but at least when we know the risk rate or the slightest hint of the factors then we can protect our beloved through kindness and protecting from loneliness, and as discussed above due to less physical activity we can prevent themselves.

As their children, we should never forget now is the time for us to treat them with that affection once they treated us.