The terms Alzheimer’s and dementia are often interchanged and mistaken.
According to the World Health Organization, Over 55 million people around the world have dementia. Over six million Americans have the disease.
The odds are that you know someone with dementia. If you’re a caregiver, chances are higher. That’s not to say that you’re alone, though; there’s a large community of caregivers who share your worry and care for loved ones with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.
There are a lot of myths, misunderstandings, and questions out there, so we want to address some of the most common questions that people are asking.
1. What is the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s?
There is a distinct difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s. Dementia is a group of symptoms caused by various disorders affecting the brain.
Alzheimer’s disease is a specific type of dementia. Other significant types of dementia include:
• Dementia with Lewy Bodies
• Vascular Dementia
• Frontotemporal Dementia
• Mixed Dementia
Dementia gets worse over time and causes severe changes in memory, thinking, and behavior. It can cause people to lose the ability to perform everyday tasks such as driving, cooking, and paying bills.
Dementia is not just a disease of the elderly — it can begin in middle age or even earlier. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases.
Alzheimer’s disease causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior, but it can also cause changes in mood or personality. As Alzheimer’s disease progresses, it becomes harder for people with the disease to care for themselves.
Alzheimer’s is much more common in older adults than in younger adults. However, younger-onset Alzheimer’s (also called early-onset Alzheimer’s) does occur in people under age 65.
If you have questions about your health or medications, always consult with your doctor or pharmacist first before taking action.
2. How hard is it to take care of mom or dad with Alzheimer’s?
To most, the idea of taking care of a parent with Alzheimer’s disease is a daunting one. In addition to the physical demands, there are all the emotional and financial pressures.
Some people feel extreme guilt about taking time off from their jobs or being unable to perform specific tasks because they have other responsibilities. However, you will find that the rewards of caring for your parents far outweigh any negative feelings you may have.
When caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, it is vital to remember that each person’s situation is unique. There is no single correct answer about the best way to handle a situation because everyone’s needs are different. You need to have patience and compassion as you care for your loved one.
However, it may be challenging to care for your loved one after some time because you can no longer handle their physical or behavioral needs. These changes are traumatic for both the patient and the caregiver.
The good news is that there are options available to help you take care of your loved one. Depending on your situation, you may want to consider one of the three primary options for people dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia:
Home Care – If your parent is still relatively independent, you may be able to hire someone who will help them with things like cooking, cleaning, running errands.
Memory Care – Memory care facilities are specifically designed to meet the needs of people with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. This form of assisted living provides 24-hour supervision from trained professionals who can help with daily living tasks such as dressing, bathing, and eating.
Nursing Homes – Nursing homes are any facility that has a 24-hour nursing staff and provides medical treatment to residents. They are licensed by the state and must comply with the state’s rules where they are located. Nursing homes can be expensive, but your medical insurance may pay for some of it if you have Medicare or Medicaid, depending on your income.
Finding a nursing home for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease is a challenging endeavor. Each facility can have a different approach to caring for patients, so it’s important to weigh each place’s pros and cons carefully.
Regardless of what option you choose, it is crucial to involve your entire family in the decision process.
3. Is an adult daycare good for people with Alzheimer’s disease?
Adult daycare is a program that offers daytime activities to people with Alzheimer’s disease. It can be part of a group home, but it doesn’t have to be; some programs are run out of churches or community centers.
What’s the point of an adult day program? For one thing, it lets people with Alzheimer’s disease get out of the house and do something. Many people with Alzheimer’s disease feel more comfortable in familiar surroundings, so they may not want to go out on their own for fear of becoming confused or disoriented.
A professionally run adult day care offers stimulation and exciting activities that many people with Alzheimer’s disease will enjoy. It also gives them a chance to socialize with other people who have cognitive issues to interact with people who share their condition.
Costs – Adult daycare can be expensive. The average cost in the U.S. is $74 per day, which adds up quickly if the person spends several days a week at the facility.
Wheelchair Access – Some adult daycares aren’t fully accessible by wheelchair. While this isn’t a deal-breaker, it can make it difficult for someone who uses a wheelchair to get around.
Socialization – Many adult daycares offer limited opportunities for socialization. If that’s important, make sure the adult daycare offers plenty of social activities for its residents.
Respite vs. Long-Term Care – Adult daycares are mainly intended as a respite for caregivers, not long-term support for people with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises looking for a facility that promotes health and wellness in people with memory loss. The CDC also advises looking for activities such as physical fitness, recreation, and socialization programs.
4. Is it better to work in memory care or assisted living as a CNA?
A certified nursing assistant, or CNA, is a medical professional who provides care in the comfort of their patients’ homes or other professional facilities. They are trained to work with those who have Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Many CNAs work in memory care facilities, but they can also work in assisted living facilities.
The role of the CNA is essential in helping Alzheimer’s residents maintain their independence by assisting them with their daily activities. Suppose you are looking to become a CNA for an Alzheimer’s patient. In that case, there are several critical differences between working at a memory care facility and an assisted living facility that you should be aware of before making your decision.
Here are some ways that life differs between these two types of facilities:
Nurse-to-Resident Ratio – Although it depends on the state and facility, memory care facilities tend to have one nurse for every six patients. Assisted living facilities, on average, have one CNA for every nine residents. One reason for the difference may be that assisted living facilities tend to be larger than memory care facilities.
Level of Care – Assisted living facilities are designed to provide support to people with disabilities to live on their own. These facilities provide supervision, but residents are more independent. By contrast, memory care homes are designed for people who have difficulty with day-to-day tasks due to cognitive impairment. Memory care facilities offer more extensive supervision and specialized activities geared toward the needs of people with dementia.
There is a big difference between working in a hospital setting versus a senior living community. In a hospital, you may have to carry out specific orders from doctors and nurses. In a senior living community, your main focus is to assist your residents with their daily needs and provide them with companionship when needed. You will be part of a team that provides care for the residents every day.
Becoming an aide in an assisted living facility requires some training and some on-the-job training from more experienced staff members. If you want to become an aide, you must complete the required education to receive your certificate.
5. What’s it like being a caregiver for someone with Alzheimer’s?
When you become a caregiver, you also have to put your own needs last and learn to cope with very little sleep and many different emotions. The good part about being a caregiver is that you get to be with someone important to you and get to know them at a deeper level. They may not remember who they are or where they grew up, but if they recognize you as their caregiver. They will unconditionally love and care about you, too.
As long as the person with Alzheimer’s is in the early stages of their diagnosis and has no significant physical issues, becoming a caregiver isn’t too tricky. That’s because the person with Alzheimer’s still has some sense of their surroundings and doesn’t require constant monitoring or assistance in most daily tasks. As they progress in their disease, it gets more complicated because they have no sense of who or where they are.
If you are caring for a family member, the most challenging part is the emotional stress. You become attached to your loved one, and it feels like your world is slowly being taken away from you. When you’re a caregiver, you feel that you can’t do anything right, and there’s nothing you can do but wait and watch the progression of the disease take its toll on your loved one.
6. Does Alzheimer’s or dementia affect muscle memory?
It’s necessary to remember that Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are not the same. Alzheimer’s disease is a specific type of dementia that can cause problems with muscle movements, memory loss, changes in personality, and other symptoms. Dementia is caused by damage to the brain cells. It can affect many functions, including memory, judgment, language, understanding spatial relationships, and problem-solving.
There are several different types of dementia, so it is essential to find out exactly your loved one’s diagnosis. Each one has its symptoms and prognosis.
Yes. Muscle memory is a form of procedural memory, one of the two main types of long-term memory. Procedural memory is responsible for physical skills such as playing a musical instrument or riding a bike. When you learn to do something with your body, like riding a bike, you don’t need to remember how to do it consciously; you get on the bike and go.
Loss of muscle memory due to Alzheimer’s or dementia can make it difficult to perform tasks that require physical skill. For example, if you’re trying to use the remote control to turn on the TV but are unsure how to operate it, you might try pressing random buttons instead of following the correct sequence.
There is a robust correlation between the deterioration of memory and loss of physical motor skills. The hippocampus is an area of the brain responsible for consolidating and forming new short-term memories, and it also plays a role in muscle memory. If the hippocampus is damaged or destroyed, it can interfere with muscle memory and cause serious problems when learning new tasks.
This process works because you create a new brain pathway when you learn how to tie your shoes or ride a bike. Or when you do any other task that requires muscle memory in your hippocampus, which is later transferred to your neocortex for long-term memory storage.
This means that when you do something repeatedly, you are creating neural pathways in your brain that allow you to do these things without remembering every step involved in the process consciously.
7. Why is Alzheimer’s more common in the elderly?
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, around 11.3% of people over 65 will develop some form of dementia. This number increases with age, and while there are treatments available to manage symptoms, there is currently no cure.
The causes of Alzheimer’s disease are not entirely known, but it is known that the disease occurs when brain cells die. This happens because the brain cannot function without its blood supply.
Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disease that worsens over time. People who live long enough may be more likely to develop it than younger people. Also, some risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease are more prevalent among the elderly than younger adults.
There are several medications and lifestyle changes that can help delay and even stop the progress of the disease in some cases.
The most effective treatment methods are drugs that can prevent more deposits from forming in brain cells. Some medications can help reduce some of the behavioral problems associated with Alzheimer’s, such as agitation or wandering.
8. Which type of doctor should I consult for Alzheimer’s disease?
There are several types of doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. These include neurologists, geriatricians, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, neuropsychiatrists, and primary care physicians.
If you’re already under the care of a primary care physician or another health care professional, they will likely be your first point of contact for information on early signs of Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia. Your doctor will direct you to the appropriate specialist if necessary. If a physician is not currently treating you, ask your primary care provider for a referral to a geriatrician or neurologist, who can evaluate your symptoms and make sure they are due to Alzheimer’s disease.
9. Will Alzheimer’s be cured in the next few years?
Someday? Maybe. Scientists are making progress, but it’s been a long, arduous journey.
In the past few years, genetics have been identified as playing a role in Alzheimer’s. Some researchers believe that we may have a genetic test to determine who is at risk for developing the disease within a year or so. That would be a significant breakthrough.
A cure would be another matter entirely. The human brain is an incredibly complicated organ with more cells than stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
There’s doubt that anyone will be able to replace all of those cells or get them working properly again, even with the help of stem-cell research and other advances being made today. Perhaps, scientists will develop a vaccine one day to help protect the brain against Alzheimer’s disease.
10. Why do people with Alzheimer’s disease become violent?
Alzheimer’s disease causes changes in behavior, mood, and memory. The cognitive problems associated with Alzheimer’s slowly grow worse over time.
People with Alzheimer’s disease can become violent due to their inability to recognize friends and family members, their inability to identify themselves, or their ability to reason often becomes impaired.
Some people with Alzheimer’s also experience delusions and hallucinations. While these symptoms alone do not always cause violence, people who experience them often become angry and lash out at others.
11. What are the beginning signs of dementia?
Dementia is a general term that describes the symptoms that result from the loss of brain cells. Dementia can be caused by Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease, head injury, alcohol abuse, and vitamin deficiency.
The signs of dementia vary depending on which part of the brain is affected. The most common early signs are:
Memory Loss – Including memory loss about recent events, trouble remembering the names of friends and family, and forgetting how to perform daily tasks, such as cooking or driving.
Reduced Reasoning – For example, having difficulty making decisions and solving problems.
Disorientation – Disorientation can include getting lost in familiar places and running errands like going to the grocery store or visiting a bank in an unfamiliar way.
Trouble Communicating – This can include using words that don’t make sense, repeating the same question, having conversations with imaginary people, not following simple directions, and not understanding what others are saying.
Mood Changes – These can include becoming irritable or frustrated quickly, having sudden emotional outbursts, and losing interest in hobbies and activities you used to enjoy.
Personality Changes – This can include acting withdrawn, being suspicious, distrustful, anxious, and depressed.
12. How long can people live with Alzheimer’s disease?
The National Institutes of Health reports that the average length between diagnosis and death is eight years. However, some people can live with Alzheimer’s disease for ten years or more.
While Alzheimer’s disease is currently incurable, plenty of drugs and therapies are available that can help slow down its progression. The proper medications can make a massive difference in the quality of life for patients and their caregivers, so early diagnosis is essential.
13. How is the last stage of Alzheimer’s defined?
The last stage of Alzheimer’s disease is when the individual has lost all ability to carry on everyday life. This stage of the disease is called late-stage or end-stage Alzheimer’s, and it can be defined in different ways.
In some cases, it may be the time at which the individual requires full-time care. In others, the person loses the ability to speak or recognize loved ones.
The unfortunate part about this stage of Alzheimer’s is that there is not much treatment available for the disease. What medication can do is reduce some of the symptoms.
In some cases, people with end-stage Alzheimer’s can live out their lives in their homes with the help of a caregiver. In other cases, they will need to move to a nursing home where doctors and nurses can assist them with daily living activities and provide physical care when needed. It all depends on what stage their Alzheimer’s is in, and how much they need around-the-clock care.
14. How can you tell if it’s Alzheimer’s or just old age?
After all, everyone gets old. How can you tell if your forgetfulness is the result of getting older or if it’s something more serious? You can’t.
One of the myths about Alzheimer’s disease is that it always progresses in the same way. But Alzheimer’s isn’t one thing. It can affect each person differently.
No one test can confirm that you or someone you love has Alzheimer’s. Instead, doctors use their best judgment to make an accurate diagnosis based on what they know about the disease and how it affects people in general. And this diagnosis is generally made after other things have been ruled out, like stroke or other disease-causing dementia-like symptoms (such as Parkinson’s disease).
If you think you might have Alzheimer’s or dementia, talk to your doctor about your concerns. Be sure to tell them everything — including any memory problems you’ve had in the past and any problems you’re currently having with memory and thinking ability.
15. What is memory care assisted living?
Some people with Alzheimer’s and dementia, need a little extra help to stay active and engaged. One of the ways to do that is through memory care assisted living.
Memory care assisted living is a type of senior housing designed to meet the needs of those with memory loss and other cognitive impairments. It is sometimes referred to as Alzheimer’s and dementia care, although it also serves those whose conditions include stroke, brain injury, or Parkinson’s disease.
There are many benefits to choosing a memory care assisted living facility for your loved one. Some of the most notable benefits include:
Safety – In a safe environment, seniors living with dementia receive the security they need and help with everything from getting dressed to remembering their medication.
Socialization – In a community setting, seniors who live with dementia have the opportunity to make friends and socialize with other seniors.
Alzheimer’s and Dementia – Your Common Questions Answered – Conclusion
These are certainly not the only questions you might have about Alzheimer’s and dementia, and we can’t possibly list them all here. However, we hope that by addressing some of the more common questions above, we will encourage you to ask some of your own questions as well as learning more about this dreaded disease.
For more information about dementia and memory care, contact Applewood Our House today.
