Dementia is a pervasive illness amongst the elderly population, and it can be extremely difficult to treat correctly, mostly because there are several different types of dementia that exist. Some are curable, and others are not. Alzheimer’s is one of the most widespread diseases that fit the description of dementia, and there is no cure for it. Lumping all dementia illnesses into the same category as Alzheimer’s is common, but it is not helpful because it takes away from the ability to effectively treat other dementias. Dementia treatment is a necessity, but treating the right illness needs to be done first in order for this to have any sort of lasting positive affect.
One example of this is Lewy body dementia (LBD). It is very similar in symptoms to Alzheimer’s disease, but the way it should be treated is different. Over 1 million Americans are affected by this type of dementia, as well, which makes it quite common as far as dementia goes. The bad part about all of this is that people with LBD tend to be extremely sensitive to medications, and the drugs used to help Alzheimer’s patients can have disastrous consequences for those with LBD. This problem is especially prevalent when people go to a primary care physician for dementia treatment and not to a specialist. The two diseases can be difficult to distinguish, and this mistake happens far more often than it should.
How can you help your loved one to avoid this problem if they have dementia? First, make sure that you see a specialist if your loved one’s doctor think that they are suffering from a chronic form of dementia. This is important because specialists will have a better trained “eye” and more experience with the different types of dementia and will be able to more accurately identify the type of dementia that your loved one has.
Next, make sure that you have superior senior care lined up and that if your caregiver has any valuable insight into your loved one’s dementia that it is relayed to the doctor. A caregiver has a lot more experience working with elderly people than you probably do, and they will likely observe things that you cannot. This may help the doctor reach a more accurate diagnosis, as well, and is a tool that you should not neglect to use.
After a final diagnosis is reached, you might find that your caregiving needs to be adjusted. A lot of people find that if they are receiving in-home care for a loved one and they have severe and irreversible dementia issues, that this level of care is sometimes not enough. If your doctor points this out to you after you ask about senior care, then the necessary adjustments will need to be made in order to ensure that your loved one remains safe. This is, of course, one of the harest parts of being a family member to someone with dementia, but safety needs to be your highest priority when it comes to their treatment, and the rest can follow suit.
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