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: medication
How dementia and personality interact
We talk A LOT in dementia care about how dementia changes a person. Often it’s distilled down into very negative language, and bracketed as ‘challenging behaviour’ (a phrase I dislike immensely). Yet, the spectrum of change is immense, very personal…
Spotting dementia
My last D4Dementia blog was all about remembering the person, and as World Alzheimer’s Month draws to a close for 2015, I want to tackle another theme from this month of awareness raising – spotting the signs of dementia. I’ve…
Researching dementia
Last week statistics were released showing that during the last year 22,000 people took part in dementia research – a 60% rise – and that 10,000 people have signed up to Join Dementia Research. Research isn’t a topic that I’ve written about…
A holistic approach to multiple long-term conditions
One of the great myths around dementia is that it exists in isolation. If every person with dementia was only living with dementia and no other conditions, and they weren’t at more risk of developing other conditions during the course…
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…
The digestive balance
You know that feeling you get after a meal when you’ve eaten a bit too much and although you loved the meal you are wishing you had shown a bit more restraint? Commonly known as indigestion, something I suspect all…
Being a pain detective
One of the questions I’m asked a lot in relation to dementia care is around how we find out if someone is in pain. In advanced dementia, when potentially a person cannot articulate clearly if they are in pain, and…
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…
Power to the people
If you are a family carer you will know only too well the emotional, physical and mental toll that caring can take on even the fittest, healthiest and most positive people. The very nature of caring means it is relentless,…
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…
