Sunday 19 September 2010

Dementia, an international scourge

I implore you to take a few minutes and read the Canadian article carefully. This could affect someone you know, someone you love.

It gives no secret remedies but a small insight to what to expect and what you can do.

When a stranger says your loved one is showing signs of the illness, do not push it aside. That remark may save your loved one from an awful future and you from the guilt cause by not knowing. The article continues: As well as learning practical things, such as changing continence pads, he says, people require training in problem-solving and, in many cases, psychological support.

Caregiving puts enormous emotional and financial strain on families. New research shows that nearly 40 per cent of people show signs of distress, ranging from depression to rage. Many are simple overwhelmed.

That stress can be mitigated with good education and access to resources, says Howard Bergman, a professor of geriatric medicine at McGill University who led an expert committee that produced a much-lauded report on dementia care for the Quebec government.

Amplify’d from www.theglobeandmail.com


Why Canada needs a national strategy on dementia

Donna Macdiarmid of Lakeville Corner, N.B., cares for her husband Roger, 70, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 2001 and who now lives at Pine Grove Seniors Home in Fredericton.

Our health system is woefully unprepared for the oncoming crisis. So today, The Globe and Mail presents a seven-point plan to grapple with it.




Solution one: Keep people at home as long as possible


“Nobody wants their grandma in a nursing home,” says Neena Chappell, the Canada Research Chair in Social Gerontology and a professor in the Centre on Aging at the University of Victoria.




Solution six: Teach Canadians to keep their brains in good health


Furthermore, he says, having a healthy cardiovascular system – by, for example, limiting salt intake to control blood pressure, reducing cholesterol, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking – is the way to prevent vascular dementia.

Read more at www.theglobeandmail.com

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