People are often confused about how Alzheimer’s disease relates to dementia and why the two terms are used interchangeably.
Dementia is a cluster of symptoms that include poor judgement, memory loss, inability to complete simple tasks, and difficulty orientating yourself in your environment. There are many causes of dementia. A few, like medication interactions, malnutrition, and depression can be reversed so that the sufferer returns to his or her previous level of functioning.
Most types of dementia, however, are caused by diseases that cannot be reversed. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, followed by vascular dementia or dementia caused by a series of strokes.
The relationship between dementia and the five senses is quite complex.
Hearing loss may be mistaken for dementia because it can lead to many of the same symptoms.
Vision, as true with hearing, adults who received treatments for eye conditions like glaucoma and cataracts significantly reduced the risk of developing dementia.
Touch, the sense of touch is generally not altered by dementia as long as your loved one is not affected by another medical condition such as stroke or diabetic neuropathy.
Smell, as with at least two other senses, losing one’s sense of smell may be a predictor of cognitive decline. It is important to realize that if your loved one’s sense of smell is significantly impaired that you may be able to use familiar aromas to bring back a happy and comforting memory.
And finally Taste, because dementia is so strongly linked to a declining sense of smell and because much of what we taste depends on our sense of smell, many people with dementia lose all or most of their sense of taste. This can lead to apathy about food, weight loss and malnutrition.
If you recognize a decline in any of the five senses contact your physician look to work with a home care company that specializes in dementia care for your loved one.
