Ways to Help Dementia

Dementia is not a disease; it's a name assigned to a collection of dysfunctional mental capabilities--most commonly, memory loss and impaired cognitive skills. There are a number of diseases and physiological conditions that result in dementia, and a proper diagnosis is the first step in discovering ways to help dementia symptoms.

Medical Help for Dementia

• There is some evidence to suggest that drugs given for high blood pressure, particularly those classified as ACE inhibitors, are effective for treating the symptoms of dementia. However, assistant professor of internal medicine-gerontology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Dr. Kaycee Sink, M.D., M.A.S, cautions that "all drugs given for hypertension may not be equal when it comes to reducing the risk of dementia in patients with hypertension."

  Early diagnosis is crucial, especially for patients suffering from progressive dementia such as Alzheimer's disease. Prescription drugs, such as Cholinesterase inhibitors, may retard the time line of the degeneration, thus giving the patient a delay in experiencing debilitating cognitive decline.

Mental Exercise

• The results of a study conducted at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland showed an increase in mental function among those who regularly exercised their brains. The study concluded that engaging in creative learning techniques--such as learning to play an instrument, learning a new language, reading, writing and working puzzles--helps neurons in the brain interconnect and can help slow the progress of many mental diseases that results in dementia.

Strategies for Caregivers

• Although persons with dementia suffer from impaired cognitive skills, their feelings are not altered. Emotions, however, do accelerate, and frustration is usually paramount. As they experience more deficiencies in cognitive ability, mood swings ranging from anger to extreme sadness are to be expected. The more their emotions are out of control, the greater the effects of their symptoms; keeping them calm is necessary in helping them maintain some control over their symptoms.

  The National Institutes of Health offers the following advice for caregivers to help patients maintain their optimum capability: Don't talk down to them--it's important for helping them maintain their dignity; don't criticize them--they already feel a sense of helplessness and criticism will heighten their confusion; give them choices--it's important for them to feel a sense of control, plus it encourages mental function;explain what you're doing--everyday tasks you take for granted may be a source of confusion for the person suffering from dementia.

  New York State Department of Health suggests that in residential settings such as nursing homes, caregivers adopt a socialization method in regards to a strategy of care. Patients with dementia often respond favorably to therapy that connects them with skills and talents they had in early life. The Department of Health suggests that procedural memory (remembering how they did things), as opposed to episodic memory (events, both current and past), are more helpful in retaining a better quality of life for a longer time. Engaging the patient in conversation and exposing him to former skills may help reconnect him in small ways to the person he was before.

Alternative Therapies

• The University of Maryland Medical Center suggests that nutritional supplements and herbal remedies may slow the progression of dementia-related symptoms, but many of the herbs and vitamins may have a serious interaction with other medications, so it's important that you discuss any over-the-counter supplements and medications with your doctor before taking them.