Dementia- A fast Approaching Epidemic

Mrs. Sharma, 68 year old, is a retired Professor of French from a renowned University. These days she is busy being an active grandmother .One day while driving back home after picking her grandkids from school she suddenly got confused with the directions and kept driving until the kids panicked and asked grandmother to stop the car.

“Mom must be really stressed looking after the grand kids and perhaps need a break from it” , her daughter said.

Few years later when she started confusing names of her children and husband, she was taken to a neurologist and was diagnosed with a moderate stage of Alzheimer’s Dementia.

We often associate episodes of memory loss or confusions to be a part of ageing process which delays the diagnosis of Dementia. Forgetfulness is not a characteristic feature of ageing. Forgetting occurs due to many other reasons like misattribution, extreme stress, lack of attention etc. On the other hand when forgetting affects activities of daily living it can be Dementia.

Dementia is a syndrome-usually of a chronic and progressive nature-in which there is a marked deterioration of cognitive functions (i.e. the ability to process thought) beyond what might be expected of normal ageing It involves the progressive loss of mental and ultimately physical functions in the individual, which results from the ongoing and irreversible death of brain cells. It is one of the conditions that are seen to be increasing at a staggering rate. India stands among the top 3 countries for the individuals suffering from Dementia housing nearly 4.1 million people out of the 47 million people living with dementia globally.  (World Alzheimer’s Report, 2015).

Treatment of such a progressive condition involves a balance of variety of treatment modalities to make sure that the quality of life of the individual can be maintained. Though the condition is progressive, treatment is basically aimed at delaying the onset or slowing down the progression of the condition.

Family members play a major role in management of dementia and for them it is very important to understand the disease and its progression to plan for it accordingly. Primary Care givers of dementia are often known as the invisible patients as their journey along with their loved one with Dementia is an emotional rollercoaster ride every day.

Your loved one who has lived a very active life doing everything may now have difficulty managing even the basic activities like eating, bathing, dressing etc. Here it is important to understand that the cognitive faculties of your loved one is gradually deteriorating, so, things or people around do not make sense to them anymore, hence leading to confusions and anxiety. So caregivers should try creating an environment of unconditional love and assurance so they feel wanted and have a purpose in life. At the same time our goal is also to keep them independent for as long as possible.

In India, Dementia care is still at its infancy while prevalence of the disease is increasing at an alarming rate. ARDSI (Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India) is one of the strongest organization developed with the aim to provide help and support by establishing memory clinics, day care centers, respite care, training programs etc.In recent years, few more organizations have come up with dementia care services like home based interventions, providing dementia trained attendants etc. Still there are huge deficits of practitioners in this field thereby making it more difficult for the affected families.

Dementia may take away their memories but they remain the same person and feel the same way .All they need is more of our time and acceptance.

“People with dementia are still people and they still have stories and they still have character and they are all individuals and they are all unique and they just need to be interacted on a human level” – Carry Mulligan

     Debastuti Baruah

    ARDSI,Guwahati Chapter