According to the recent surveys on diseases, the number of
Alzheimer’s and dementia cases is on the rise. They are becoming the topmost
concern for the elderly, seniors, their family members, and home care providers.
Although the clinical manifestations of both these diseases are quite similar,
there are many differences that may affect ongoing care.
According to the American Medical Association, Dementia is
the medical term that is used for the conditions arising from insidious loss of
several mental functions. Memory impairment decreased motor skills,
disturbances in the ability of a person to think or plan abstractly and failure
Identifying objects are some of the symptoms of dementia.
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Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia in which there is a gradual loss of many important mental functions. In Alzheimer’s disease, the
memory loss is far more severe and grave. For example, the patient may forget
the names of his children or where he lived in the past decade. It is rapidly
emerging as the most common cause of dementia in the European countries.
Another difference is related to the age of onset which means
the time when the earliest signs of the disease were first noticed. The signs
of Alzheimer’s disease can be noticed at an early age, starting at 45 years,
while dementia is usually seen later in the age group of 70 years and older.
Generally, dementia is a disease of senility that is mostly seen in elderly
people.
One form of dementia that is often confused with Alzheimer’s
disease is Multi-Infarct Dementia (MID). MID occurs when a clot of blood
blocks the small blood vessels of the brain and damages the brain tissue.
Symptoms of MID are confusion, problems with the short term memory, roaming and
getting lost even in familiar places, loss of bladder and bowel control, and
emotional problems like crying or laughing during inappropriate times.
To summarize, we can say that dementia is just a symptom, a
clinical manifestation of the sign of underlying disease while Alzheimer’s
disease, is the cause of the symptom. A good example of this analogy is “fever”
– While the word “fever” refers to an increase in body temperature denoting
that the person is sick, it does not give the underlying reason behind it or
what caused the sickness. Similarly, dementia means something is wrong with the
person’s brain, his memory, and cognitive abilities, but it does not furnish any
information about the underlying cause. However, while dementia is not
considered a disease but a clinical condition, the most common cause of
dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.
In both of these
conditions, the patient becomes gradually and increasingly more dependent on
others to manage their needs and requirements. For this reason, home care services are
of utmost importance and are an unavoidable component of patient care and the
health care system. Homecare companies like Preferred Private Care, are in great demand today due to their in-home
Alzheimer's and dementia care services. If you or any of your loved ones are
suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, and you are searching for a
reliable home care services company, Preferred Private Care is the perfect home care services provider for you.
Preferred Private Care’s vision and goal is to
unite home and community and to provide a better environment to the patients,
by means of a conjoint effort.
