Alzheimer’s Awareness Month

It’s World Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and it is so beneficial to have an informative blog post about the elderly living with Dementia. Many of us do not know what Dementia is and that Alzheimer’s Disease is one of many types of Dementia.

If you have an elderly loved one recently being diagnosed with Dementia, if you have no idea how serious this condition is or if you want more information on Dementia Caregiving; take note of these ways to support them especially in unprecedented times like these.

Remember to follow the Coronavirus Guidelines  when caring for an elderly during these times.

What Is Dementia And What Are The Common Symptoms?

Each elderly individual is unique and will experience Dementia in their own way. Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of conditions. An elderly with Dementia might have various cognitive symptoms and problems such as:

  • Daily Memory: difficulty of remembering events, loved one and the hobbies the elderly individual used to enjoy.
  • Concentrating: difficulties in problem solving or difficulties in making decisions.
  • Language Problems: difficulties in starting or maintaining a conversation or forgetting how to converse.
  • Orientation Problems: confusions and losing track of time/date.

The symptoms mentioned above are only a fraction of the symptoms. Alongside, the elderly individual living with Dementia might experience mood swings such as they may become easily frustrated, irritable, anxious or upset.

Did You Know: Alzheimer’s Disease Is One Of The Most Common Types of Dementia?

Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common type of Dementia. In scientific terms, Alzheimer’s Disease is caused by an abnormal protein that surrounds several brain cells. Eventually, this severely damages the internal structure of the cells.

In more simpler terms, our brain is made up of million nerve cells that connect to each other. An elderly with Alzheimer’s Disease break these connections and chemical messages. Over time, the nerve cells die and the brain tissue is lose which result in connections between brain cells disappearing.

Vascular Dementia is another common type and this disease happens to loss of oxygen supply to the brain as blood vessels are blocked. Eventually with Vascular Dementia, brain cells die or get severely damaged.

The symptoms of both Vascular and Alzheimer’s Disease may be slightly similar. This includes difficulties with problem solving/decision making and confusion.

You Can Still Live Well With This Condition!

Dementia cannot be cured however, charities such as Alzheimer’s Society UK   and Alzheimer’s Research UK and organisations like Visiting Angels are constantly learning and researching about this condition. Although, researchers are looking at how Dementia can be prevented/diagnosed earlier and how the quality of life can be improved for the elderly living with this condition.

There are a variety of non medical treatments available that can assist someone to live well with Dementia. The non medical information available are: support, therapies and activities from GPs and Alzheimer’s Society.

Support to the elderly individual and their carer should ideally be available after a thorough diagnosis as it will give them the chance to talk about the support with a professional. It is also essential to plan ahead and think about how to seek help.

Types of treatment:

  • Talking Therapies: a type of treatment that allows the individual to talk to a professional about their emotions.
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: a type of therapy to help the individual to deal with overwhelming problems.
  • Cognitive Stimulation: a type of therapy to help to keep the individuals mind active. This is a popular type of treatment.

Elderly Individuals should be encouraged to share their life experiences and memories.

Visiting Angels Home Care Can Assist You With Dementia Caregiving!

As a volunteer of Alzheimer’s Society UK, I would say that there is more to the person than the Dementia. There are so many ways of finding out about people diagnosed with this condition. We should talk to them and their family members and try to find out about their hobbies and life stories. Once the individual finds it difficult to express their needs, we should be doing our best as caregivers to respect their wishes and provide the best personalised care to them.

Magdalena Zieba – Registered Care Manager

A Personalised Dementia Care For Your Loved One!

A variety of things can be done to assist an elderly person to live well with this condition. Care and support for the individual living with this condition should be person centred and personalised.

Elderly people living with Dementia need understanding and love. They need carers who are specialised in Dementia Caregiving. At Visiting Angels, we understand how difficult it can be caring for the elderly with this condition.

Regardless of whether we provide Dementia caregiving or any other type of support, each care package is tailored to each individuals’ circumstances and preferences.

The elderly individual should be able to choose their own caregiver and as a team we make sure we match the perfect caregiver to our client. When a loved one is diagnosed with Dementia, how they live with this disease is dependent on their family and caregivers.

Our caregivers offer compassionate and specialised care that is designed to the elderly individual that is coping with Dementia. A personalised home care service allows the elderly person to continue to live at home whilst receiving the best care possible to maximise the quality of life.

Visiting Angels Home Care

Visiting Angels have been providing personalised elderly home care across the world for over 20 years. Our business has been built on recruiting, training and supporting the best caregivers. We ultimately enable them to deliver a compassionate elderly home care service.

We provide excellent quality elderly care that is tailored to each individuals’ circumstances. As a team, we listen and respond quickly to the specific care needs of clients such as, involving them and their loved ones in every decision and choosing their own angel.

How Are Visiting Angels Home Care Unique?

With Dementia, it is very important that the client gets a familiar face or the same carer in each visit. Having a high staff retention means that our care teams are consistent and continuous. Since our clients choose their own caregivers and the same care team visits you each time, you can be assured that even in the uncertainty, there will always be the comfort of a familiar face.

Our West London office ensures personalised elderly home care solutions across all regions such as Ealing, Action, Hammersmith & Fulham, Putney, Greenford, Chiswick, Richmond and other West London boroughs. Whilst Dementia Care being a huge area, we also offer a lot of support from companionship & social care, medication assistance to more complex cases such as hoarding and palliative care.

For more information, contact us on 0203 143 8878

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