CARE OF OLDER

Care of the Older Person D20180

Care of the Older Person D20180

Introduction

The elderly are an important part of society and should be given the importance that they tend to deserve. However, they are a group, sometimes unrecognized. On several occasions elderly are alone after their spouse's death because they are turned away by the children. They think that the parents are a burden and too difficult to carry or just frantic life and material values that we live does not give us a direct benefit and may slow down our forward motion life. In some societies that are less evolved, the elderly are revered and treated with respect while ours are often neglected or simply not heard. Moreover, a risk oriented group should have different agencies and institutions and individuals belonging to them, listen and understand their needs. The elderly age people live differently from others because of their tastes, interests, needs, feelings, and the view towards world view is dissimilar than young people.

Alzheimer primarily occurs in elderly; approximately 10% of adults over the age of 65, and almost half of those above the age of 85 have the disease. These abnormalities, as well as neuron loss, are observed in limbic structures such as hippocampus, amygdala, and nucleus basalis and in association cortices responsible for memory and other high-level cognitive processes. Alzheimer is associated with a degenerative dementia leading to complete deterioration of functional capacity, and the eventual death of the affected individual. Alzheimer was among the ten most common causes of death in 1999. Care for the elderly requires a care giver who deals with the elderly, should have a medical education as it is mandatory. In some cases, care givers for elderly care are allowed without a medical education, if they comply with the entire doctor's client.

Symptoms of Alzheimer in Elderly

Alzheimer can affect any part of the brain, although the most typical involvement is the hypoccampal formation, amygdala, nucleus basalis of Meynert, and entorhynal cortex. This localization explains in part the initial symptomatology of the disease. The most typical presentation is an amnestic syndrome with subtle progression, reflecting to a certain degree of a predominance of bilateral medial temporal lobe dysfunction. The elderly patients and family members confuse these initial symptoms with the manifestation of normal aging. However, Alzheimer can sometimes have a non-amnestic presentation, which may become a source of clinical confusion with other types of dementia (Sinha, 2011, 384-387).

This presentation may feature language problems, particularly word-finding difficulties, visuo-spatial deficits involving spatial cognition, and difficulties reading or writing. Finally, Alzheimer can present with executive dysfunction, featuring difficulties making sound decisions and solving problems. Subsequently, cognitive and behavioural changes, which mainly reflect a more global frontal and temporal lobe dysfunction may ensue, with apathy, change in interest in usual activities, poor judgment, derangement of introspection, and speech difficulties.

Other common symptoms with advanced stages of Alzheimer among elderly patients are confusion, wandering, perceptual limitation (visual and auditory), depression, hallucinations and paranoid delusions, which greatly complicate the care and ...