There is a common misconception that there is a pill to fix virtually any health issue. I’ve written about this before (‘A pill for everything?’) in relation to medications for dementia (most notably prescribed for people with Alzheimer’s Disease), but…
Tag: antipsychotics
Sectioning people with dementia
Over the four years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve met or been contacted by many families whose loved ones with dementia have been sectioned (detained in hospital without consent under the Mental Health Act). Sometimes the sectioning has occurred…
The ‘F’ word that no one wants to hear
Most older people are frightened of having them, most relatives of those older people are equally concerned by them, and most health and social care services are under pressure to avoid those in their care having them. Falls really are…
Restraints – The dark side of care?
“They kick, punch and bite us, what do you expect us to do?” The words of a social care worker caring for people in a residential dementia unit, explaining why they sometimes have to physically restrain their residents or request…
Understanding aggression
Like so many dementia symptoms, aggression is often misunderstood, leading to inappropriate interventions. It is popular to portray people with dementia as angry and out of control, aggressive and unmanageable, frightening and dangerous. Extreme examples of aggression that lead to…
A pill for everything?
Modern medicine is a wonderful thing. It has given us cures to illnesses and diseases that previously killed people in their prime. We have surgical procedures and treatments that can alleviate suffering and give humans of all ages a new…
Ending the ‘chemical cosh’
One of the things I feel most passionately about in dementia care is the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications. For many years these have been commonplace when doctors, nurses and care professionals have sought to quell the symptoms of dementia…
