Alternative Medicine - Nursing

[Date of Submission]

Alternative Medicine - Nursing

Following are the question from the given case study and its answers are given from the websites which were provided in the description detail.

Discuss the deficits Mr. Lusk has presented with.

A. Mr. Lusk has been presented with a history of hypertension, congestive heart failure and cataracts. Even though he does not have a psychiatric deficiency history or substance abuse issue, he still suffers from progressive memory loss and has exhibited a steady decline in being able to perform his everyday tasks. He has trouble in performing complex tasks related to his house for instance, shopping or walking in the neighborhood without getting lost.

He was admitted to the medical facilities after he was found lost for two days in the nearby state forest, unable to remember his way back home (Henein, 2010).

2. What investigations would help to confirm a medical diagnosis of Dementia?

A. The first thing which is evaluated whenever the doctor suspects there is Dementia at play is personal history. Chronic forgetfulness is one of the biggest indicators of dementia. After which clinical tests can be recommended by doctors to rule out any simple causes like vitamin deficiencies or other mundane causes. The doctors might prescribe blood tests for infection, anaemia, liver function, electrolyte balance, thyroid function, vitamin B12 deficiency, drug abuse issues or urine tests. After which the patient might be subjected to Cognitive testing to test his mental capacities including brain imaging techniques, radiological tests, ADAS-Cog, MMSE and Neuropsychological testing (McNamara, 2011).

3. Define Dementia?

A. Dementia can be defined as a deficiency in the functions of the brain that takes place because of particular diseases. The thinking, memory, judgment, behavior and language are adversely affected by it. Dementia is global, chronic and majorly not reversible. The treatment for Dementia is majorly supportive, however sometimes Cholinesterase inhibitors has also been seen to improve the cognitive functions of the patient. There is no particular age for dementia to start however; it is majorly prevalent in the elderly. In the U.S, a minimum of 5 million people have been diagnosed with dementia. Types of dementia include:

Alzheimer's or non-Alzheimer's type

Irreversible or potentially reversible

Cortical or sub-cortical (McNamara, 2011).

4. What are some of the common symptoms of Dementia?

A: The major symptoms of Dementia which are easy to identify include:

The patient suffers from day to day memory loss

The patient has problems performing normal daily tasks

The patient is confused regarding the place and time he is in

The patient has problems thinking in abstract terms

The judgment of the patient becomes poor

The patient tends to misplace his/her things

The patient undergoes behavior or personality changes

The patient suffers from initiative loss (Porritt, 2000).

5. What is the importance of providing a safe, social, emotional environment for someone like Mr. Lusk?

A: The social and physical environment and the structures of organization, may often work in harmony so as to lend support to the particular abilities and needs of the patients who are currently suffering from dementia. Environments that are dementia-friendly, can help the patients ...