Category: Blog Posts

Creating a Useful Profile

One of the fears and common dangers for carers of dementia patients is when the patient is “missing”. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but when it does happen, it is an extremely stressful time upon realizing someone with dementia has simply walked out of the house. The danger, of course, is that the person does not realize the implications of wandering about without notifying a family member or perhaps that the person does not remember how to go back home. What has happened from time to time is that a person with dementia wanders home, sometimes confused, only to be verbally castigated by family members – causing more confusion and oftentimes humiliation. It is understandable for the carers to be in a panic, but the situation often goes from bad to worse, emotionally, for everyone.

Prevent this scenario by creating a standard protocol, communicated to pre-determined people, and perhaps by running a few practice drills. Begin by creating a useful profile of the person with dementia, including the following information:

– recent photo (face & full body)
– age (date of birth)
– hair colour
– eye colour
– height
– name (including nickname or often-used title)
– phone number, address
– emergency contact person

When diagnosed with dementia, alert some trusted neighbors of possible wandering and give them copies of the profile to keep. Always keep some copies on hand, in case the police may need to be involved (who will certainly appreciate up-to-date information to make their search easier). For friends and family who may live far away, let them know of current medical conditions and provide them with the profile also. As people with dementia regress further into their past, they may contact close friends from long ago, hoping to reconnect. Letting them know in advance will also help them understand that the unexpected visit may be a possible “wandering”, and that phoning the emergency contact person may stop a panicked search. As always, once found, be gentle with the patient – people with dementia often do not “try” to create problems on purpose.

 

Type III Diabetes

There is recent talk of a new type of diabetes. Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body chronically prevents the pancreas from producing insulin. Type II diabetes is when the pancreas create insulin but the body doesn’t use it properly. Type III diabetes is believed to be a neurological issue, in which the brain either tells the pancreas to not produce insulin or tells the body not to use it properly. In all cases, the excess of sugar consumption is often the trigger which starts the snowball of symptoms.

What’s interesting about Type III diabetes is that the brain’s functions concerning the production or use of insulin is very similar to the brain functions of someone with Alzheimer’s disease. Although Type III diabetes is still a ‘working name’ and not entirely understood, it seems the research is pointing in a direction which may soon classify certain types of dementia as a symptom of Type III diabetes.

It’s long been known that excessive sugar consumption leads to a host of health problems, not the least of which is obesity, which taxes the body so heavily that the brain is inevitably altered for the worse. Remember that the brain is the command center for all the organs that keep the body functioning, and any difficulty experienced by an organ ultimately affects the brain because it needs to work harder to manage the troubled organ.

A lesser-known issue is that “sugar” may not necessarily be table sugar. Sugar is a hidden ingredient in all sorts of beverages and processed foods, used often as a preservative or taste enhancer. Even the name is sometimes hidden because many ingredient listings do not outright say “sugar”. Carefully read labels and try to avoid products that have too many words ending in “-ose”.

Legal Preparation for Dementia

 

While every precaution should be taken to prevent dementia, there is the unavoidable issue of aging that can make life difficult. Dementia further adds to the stress, but apart from staving off dementia by adopting good nutrition and exercise regimens, there are some additional plans to consider. Just in case dementia sets in and makes medical care difficult, begin planning what kind of medical care would be ideal and desirable before any dementia symptoms appear. (If no dementia develops, all the better.) Seek legal counsel with experience in medical issues to discuss the following:

1. Ideal hospital or doctor: Is there a particular hospital or doctor that would be preferable over others in terms of comfort or trust level? Dementia patients may not be able to express their preferences in advanced stages, but the stress of being unable to communicate could be lessened if the care facility is decided beforehand.

2. Medical advocate: Is there a particular family member or friend who is knowledgeable about the patient’s particular health record and existing or development medical treatment plans? The more advanced the dementia, it will be very difficult for the person to comprehend what the doctor is recommending or to make decisions based on the doctor’s suggestions. A medical advocate should be someone who is committed to seeking out the best care for the patient and is willing to work with medical professionals (not just argue and oppose) to find the best dementia treatment.

3. Financing: Many people with mild dementia do not qualify for financial aid in medical treatment plans, especially if their symptoms are so mild that there is really no medication or treatment required. However, it does help for “daycare” facilities to be in the picture because oftentimes socialization will prevent dementia from advancing too quickly – and those programs usually require fees. For working adult children who must rely on these activity programs to provide the social requirement for their ailing parents, who also have other financial obligations, this extra payment can be a heavy burden. Research what is available and begin to set aside money for treatment-related expenses.

The Importance of Vitamin D

 

The University of Exeter Medical School recently conducted a study that began to shed some light on how dementia develops. Some “sunlight”, that is. The six-year study followed 1658 adults, aged 65 and over, and discovered that those who were vitamin D deficient were twice as likely to develop dementia in its various forms.

So the answer is for the elderly to get more vitamin D, right? Unfortunately, as we age, our skin becomes less effective in absorbing beneficial rays – or at least, not without risking skin damage from the harmful rays. This means it may become a case of “too little, too late” for many people. Another issue is that we don’t actually get vitamin D from sunlight; we get the precursors for vitamin D from sunlight, and our livers do the actual converting that makes vitamin D useable throughout the body. This is why it’s important to maintain a healthy liver because all the adequate sunlight exposure is wasted if it can’t be converted to vitamin D.

Many people think drinking vitamin D is the answer, but there are different types of vitamin D (just as there are many types of vitamin B), hence all the small numbers next to the letter. Vitamin D2 is what we want, although many drinks are “enriched” with Vitamin D3, which is toxic. Again, people think they are getting enough vitamin D, but because they’re getting the wrong type of vitamin D, it’s also a waste (and possibly making them sicker).

The best thing to do is to avoid liver-damaging foods and seek out liver-feeding foods. Beetroot (and especially its juice) is a very effective liver-cleanser and stimulator. The only reason people avoid it is because it can cause urine or feces to be of a dark reddish-purple colour. This doesn’t mean anything is wrong, however, so there’s nothing to worry. After taking care of the liver, create and take opportunities to soak in some rays.

The One Exercise to Avoid

It’s true that exercise will always lower the risk of dementia. But for one type of person, a particular kind of exercise may actually increase the risk of dementia. Anyone suffering from hypertension must avoid high-impact sports, largely because the intense physical activity will put more strain on the blood vessels. The issue with high blood pressure isn’t just that the number are too high, it’s what the numbers indicate – and they indicate the blood vein walls take a pounding each time the heart pumps blood throughout the body, especially the brain.

The blood veins in the brain are so delicate that even without hypertension, people take care not to endure physical trauma to their heads. With hypertension, that physical trauma is silently taking place inside the head. 

The obvious types of high-impact sports include intense cardiovascular workouts, but one that escapes people’s attentions is isometrics. Isometrics are any activity that require muscles to be “strained”, acting against other muscles or a fixed object. In other words, weightlifting is a form of isometrics. So are non-weightlifting forms such as flexing muscles. This may be disappointing news for people who want to form contoured muscles, but if they have high blood pressure and are continuing to do isometrics – all that work may actually be shortening their quality of life. After all, it’s a shame to achieve something if one can’t remember it.

Take care of the hypertension first with diet and gentler forms of exercise. Then move on to isometrics.

Check (and Purge) the Medicine Cabinet

Taking medication can be a helpful habit to nurture during the treatment of an illness, but if the reason for taking medication is no longer existent, then continuing to take medication can do more harm than good. Too many drugs for blood pressure, blood thinning, diet pills, painkillers, antihistamines are responsible for impairing brain function – especially when there is no need for those chemicals to be present in the body.

Most people are easily taking more medication than they need. After first being diagnosed and prescribed medication, more and more people are taking active steps to reverse their illness. That means the prescriptions may not need to be taken for as long, or the dosage may not need to be large, for the patient to begin focusing on other areas of healthful living. Because all drugs will eventually make their way into the bloodstream – and because the brain is physically fed and nourished by that same blood – excessive amounts of medications can be the root cause of some types of forgetfulness and other signs of dementia.

The worst thing that can happen is to remain over ­prescribed, and after a checkup for brain function, to be prescribed even more medication. At any health checkup, be sure to bring the list of current medication for evaluation with the doctor because this will prevent mistakes in redundant or counteractive prescriptions. Adjust diet to include nutrient­dense foods so the body has what it requires to heal itself, which may reduce the need for medication. Many false­positives for dementia could be prevented this way, reducing many other related problems that go along with a diagnosis for dementia.

Brain Training: Does It Work?

For the last few years especially, brain training games and apps have flooded the marketplace.Some seem purely for entertainment value, while others have been backed with real scientific research and experimentation. Now some common questions are : Do they actually work? Is it worth paying money for these programs? Will they really prevent dementia?

It’s becoming clear that some of these programs only serve to make the brain better at performing those specific tasks within the games. They don’t really have practical applications and consequently may not necessarily translate into real life, whether as prevention or treatment. On the other hand, any brain exercise is good exercise – so even if the brain is getting better at only those game ­environment tasks, it’s better than constantly idling anyway.

The truth is, anything can be “brain training”. Learning a musical instrument, learning a new language, reading challenging material, driving unfamiliar routes, solving maths or word puzzles – they are all essentially giving the cognitive structure something to engage and work with so that thought can occur. Mindlessly doing nothing is the real enemy; anything that gets the brain to work is worthy enough.

If spending money on some brain game is going to cause anguish or doubt, then it’s probably not worth the trouble to sucked into the growing industry. But it could easily be a small price to pay if the reward is going to be fun and the topic will be good fodder for conversation. As long as the brain is kept at work, personal preferences are a distant second factor for consideration.

Dementiatimes Top 10 For Carers

 

https://dementiatimes.org present what they think is the best 10 things a carer should do if they have to look after someone with dementia. Clearly this list is not exhaustible but it should help in providing a pathway in which the carer and the patient can enjoy a more interesting and exciting life.

 

Peanut Butter Test

A very simple home test that can be done to test the waters for possible Alzheimer’s disease involves the use of peanut butter and a ruler. The basic principle is that as dementia sets in and “shuts off” certain parts of the brain, the olfactory nerves are fair game for deterioration. The interesting thing is that different nerves operate the left and right nostrils, which means changes in the sense of smell can be an indicator for dementia.

The University of Florida conducted experiments and discovered a method that uses highly accessible “ingredients” and a simple process. Blindfold someone suspected of Alzheimer’s disease, and put a small dab of peanut butter on a ruler. Have the person take turns placing a finger on one side of the nose to close off a nostril (similar to covering one eye for vision tests), and see if the peanut butter can be smelled regardless of distance. If afflicted with Alzheimer’s, the left nostril will have a weaker sense of smell. A difference of 15cm is cause for a visit to the doctor.

For example: Without telling the blindfolded individual, put some peanut butter at the 20cm mark. Have the individual close the left nostril and smell with the right nostril. Next, remove the peanut butter from the 20cm mark (wash off any residue), and place peanut butter at a new location. If the individual, now smelling with the left nostril, is unable to smell the peanut butter until it is within 5cm, that means there is brain impairment that should be examined. It may be best to run this test several several times to confirm the same result each time (to rule out sinus problems or other false positives).