Dementia and memory care - What Athulya Assisted Living has to offer?

If a senior is experiencing continuous decline in cognitive functions such as memory, thinking, judgement, decision making, language and behaviour, it could be because of many reasons. If there are visible declines in any of the two cognitive functions, then it could be considered as dementia and still a thorough medical evaluation is required to confirm it.

Even though dementia is regarded as one of the neurodegenerative disorders, it is not a disease. Various underlying medical conditions and lifestyle choices can lead to dementia, mental impairment ranging from mild to severe.

Stick with us as we are going to have a detailed look into the dementia causes, types of dementia, treatments for dementia, prevention of dementia and how Athulya Assisted Living is totally equipped to provide the world-class dementia care.

What are the types of dementia?

In most cases, dementia is a symptom of a specific disease or condition. Here are a few conditions that lead to dementia.

• Alzheimer's disease: Alzheimer's disease accounts for around 60 to 70 percent of dementia cases, more than any other root cause for dementia.
• Parkinson’s disease: Just like Alzheimer's there are many reasons for Parkinson’s disease. Affecting the judgement and paranoia, this condition is one of the major reasons for depression in seniors.
• Lewy body dementia: Protein deposits in the nerves can interrupt the chemical signals from the brain, leading delayed reactions and memory loss.
• Vascular dementia: Inactive lifestyle can lead to plaque buildup in the blood vessels, reducing the blood flow to the brain. This condition can lead to stroke as well as dementia.
• Frontotemporal dementia: Unnatural changes in the front and side parts of the brain can lead to judgement and language impairments.

Dementia is a rare condition. And, contrary to the popular belief, not all dementias are progressive. Some can be treated and some can even be reserved.

What are the causes of dementia?

Even though there are many reasons for dementia, the nature of cause remains the same for all types of dementias. Either the condition damages the neurons or interrupts the signals or blood circulation to the brain.

What are the symptoms of dementia?

In many cases, the sooner the dementia is predicted, the better the treatment outcome would be. Let’s have a look at the early symptoms of dementia.

• Difficulty in remembering long-term and short-term memories - Based on the root cause of dementia, the person might feel difficulty in remembering the details of the events in the distant past or what they had for lunch.
• Difficulty in speech - There would be a visible change in the way your loved one communicates. Reaching for words and being repetitive in communication is an early symptom of dementia.
• Unable to find the way back to home: Confused sense of direction is a common symptom of dementia. This might happen even when the senior would have lived in that locality for years.
• Mood-swings - Confusion will become a state of being as the dementia progresses but it would be the mood swings that become difficult to handle for the family members. Seniors might behave out of their character by showing the signs of anger, frustration, and sadness for no particular reason.

Apart from these symptoms, seniors will also have difficulty in contemplating the regular tasks, taking care of personal hygiene, being forgetful, and showing loss of interest in hobbies or activities that they were always interested in.

What does Athulya have to offer in regard to dementia?

India, as one of the densely populated countries in the world, has seniors who are in dire need of memory care facilities. As one of the earliest world-class assisted living facilities in India, Athulya takes care of seniors with dementia in a just manner.

• Specially trained staff - Starting from the skilled nursing care specialists to the daily housekeeping staff, are specially trained in the care activities of elders with dementia.
• Safety and security - Giving the paramount importance to the elders safety and security, Athulya employs the best infrastructure and follows the carefully designed senior care patterns.
• Diet and activities that boost memory - Enhancing the impact of medications, Athulya has designed each day of seniors with dementia with activities that are focused on memory improvement, coordination, communication, decision making and other engaging activities.

With clinically approved facilities and amenities, Athulya is an assisted living facility that is carefully designed to enhance the quality of elderly life - every single day!