dementia
Support for you or someone you care about
Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of progressive conditions affecting the brain.
Reducing the risk of dementia is a growing focus, as research increasingly highlights the connection between lifestyle choices and brain health. By adopting healthy habits early and maintaining them throughout life, you or someone you care about can lower your chances of getting dementia. Unfortunately, there’s no way to guarantee that you won’t get dementia, however, you may be able to make it less likely. Simple changes, such as staying mentally and physically active, eating a balanced diet, managing stress, and prioritising social connections, can make a significant difference.
Tips to Reduce Your Risk of Dementia
Top tips:
Top tips to Quit:
Excessive alcohol consumption can damage brain cells and increase the risk of dementia.
Tips to Cut Down:
Keeping your brain active can help build cognitive resilience and delay the onset of dementia.
Activities that engage your brain include:
Social interaction is equally important. Spend time with friends and family, join community groups, or volunteer to stay connected. Conversations are great for stimulating mental skills like memory and reasoning.
Chronic conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity are linked to dementia risk.
An early diagnosis helps you to access:
Memory Concerns? Speak to your GP to start the diagnostic process. They may refer you to the Rotherham Memory Clinic, located at Centenary Clinic, Effingham Street, Rotherham (Call: 01709 447766).
Watch an introduction to the Rotherham Memory Clinic:
Types of Dementia
Understanding Types of Dementia
Dementia is a term used to describe a range of symptoms that affect memory, thinking, problem-solving, and language skills. These changes are caused by damage to the brain, often from specific diseases. Understanding the different types of dementia can help individuals and their families better navigate the challenges and treatments associated with each condition.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60-80% of cases. It is caused by the build-up of abnormal proteins in the brain, such as amyloid plaques and tau tangles, which disrupt the function of brain cells.
Vascular dementia occurs when blood flow to the brain is reduced, leading to cell damage. This can result from strokes, mini-strokes, or conditions that affect circulation, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.
This type of dementia is caused by abnormal clumps of protein called Lewy bodies in the brain. It shares similarities with both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
FTD affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which are responsible for behaviour, personality, and language. It typically occurs in people under the age of 65 but can develop later in life.
Mixed dementia occurs when a person has more than one type of dementia, commonly Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. The symptoms can vary depending on the combination of conditions.
Other, less common forms of dementia include:
Young Onset Dementia (YOD)
If dementia is diagnosed under the age of 65, it’s classified as Young Onset Dementia. Younger individuals may face unique challenges, such as work, family responsibilities, and financial commitments.
In Rotherham, the Young Onset Dementia Service (YODS) provides tailored support:
For more details, visit the Young Dementia Network.
Benefits of Diagnosis: Understanding the condition early can help manage symptoms, provide access to treatments, and unlock benefits or legal protections.
Learn more about the Types of Dementia, the benefits of early diagnosis, and tips for preparing for your GP appointment.
Worried About Memory Problems?
Memory problems are a common concern, especially as we age. While occasional forgetfulness can be normal, persistent or worsening memory issues may indicate something more serious, such as dementia. Understanding the signs and seeking support early can make a big difference in managing any underlying conditions.
When to Be Concerned About Memory Problems
It’s natural to forget things from time to time, like misplacing your keys or struggling to recall a name. However, memory problems may require attention if you notice any of the following:
If these signs persist or worsen, it’s important to seek advice from a healthcare professional.
Causes of Memory Problems
Not all memory issues are caused by dementia. They may result from other factors, including:
A healthcare professional can help identify the cause and recommend the right course of action.
Steps to Take if You’re Worried
Why Early Action Matters
Getting help early allows for:
Support and Resources
If you’re concerned about memory problems, you don’t have to face it alone. Here’s how we can help:
Don’t Ignore the Signs
If memory problems are affecting your daily life, take action today. Early diagnosis and support can help you or your loved one live well. Contact us for more information or to speak with a specialist.
Living Well with Dementia
Living well with dementia is possible with the right tools and resources:
The Benefits of Getting a Dementia Diagnosis
A dementia diagnosis can be daunting, but it is also a crucial step toward accessing support, planning for the future, and managing symptoms effectively. Understanding the benefits of a diagnosis can help you or a loved one make informed decisions and take proactive steps.
A diagnosis opens the door to essential resources and services tailored to help individuals with dementia and their families.
While there is no cure for dementia, many treatments and strategies can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life.
A diagnosis gives individuals and their families time to prepare for the challenges ahead.
Receiving a diagnosis provides clarity and helps individuals and their loved ones make sense of changes in behavior, memory, or thinking.
A diagnosis benefits not only the person with dementia but also their loved ones. It enables families to access:
How to Get a Diagnosis
Why Early Diagnosis is Key
Getting diagnosed early can significantly improve quality of life by allowing access to treatments, support, and the time to make important decisions. It also empowers individuals to live as well as possible for as long as possible.
Reach Out for Help
If you’re concerned about memory problems or other symptoms, don’t wait. Speak to a healthcare professional today. For more information and support, explore our resources or contact us directly.
Making the Most of Your Healthcare Appointments
When navigating healthcare for yourself or a loved one, preparation can make a big difference. Here’s a guide to help you make the most of your appointments, ensuring you get the answers and support you need.
Preparation is key to a productive healthcare visit. Here are some steps to take before your appointment:
Engaging actively during the appointment helps ensure you leave with the information and support you need:
Once your appointment is over, take these steps to follow up on your care plan:
Maximize the benefits of your healthcare appointments with these strategies:
Managing dementia involves a combination of medical treatments, practical strategies, and emotional support. By taking a proactive approach, individuals with dementia and their families can improve quality of life and navigate challenges more effectively.
Understanding Dementia Treatments
While there is no cure for dementia, various treatments and strategies can help manage symptoms, improve quality of life, and support those affected. Understanding the options available is an important step toward living well with dementia.
Certain medications may help alleviate symptoms or slow the progression of specific types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Speak to your doctor about the most suitable options for your needs.
In addition to medication, non-pharmacological approaches play a crucial role in managing dementia symptoms.
Simple lifestyle changes can complement treatments and enhance daily living.
Carers and loved ones play an essential role in supporting someone with dementia. Resources available include:
Exciting developments in dementia research may lead to new treatments and therapies. Clinical trials are exploring innovative approaches, including drug therapies, brain stimulation, and lifestyle interventions. Talk to your healthcare provider about participating in research opportunities.
Understanding and Living Well
Dementia can bring many changes, but with the right knowledge and support, it’s possible to live well. This section offers essential information for those diagnosed with dementia and their loved ones, helping you navigate the journey ahead.
Living Well with Dementia
A dementia diagnosis can feel overwhelming, but it also opens the door to support and resources. Understanding your condition helps you:
Every person’s experience with dementia is unique. Strategies to manage symptoms include:
Making your home dementia-friendly can promote independence and safety:
Support for Carers and Families
Caring for someone with dementia can be challenging. It’s important to seek support for your own well-being:
Dementia may require long-term planning:
Eating and Drinking with Dementia: Tips for Healthy Nutrition
For people with dementia, maintaining good nutrition and hydration is essential to support physical and mental health. However, changes in appetite, taste, or the ability to manage meals can make eating and drinking challenging. This guide provides practical tips to ensure mealtimes remain enjoyable and nutritious.
The Importance of Eating and Drinking Well
Good nutrition can help:
Dehydration can lead to confusion, fatigue, and other health issues, so staying hydrated is equally vital.
Challenges with Eating and Drinking
Dementia can cause difficulties such as:
Tips for Encouraging Healthy Eating
Staying Hydrated
Supporting Specific Challenges
Practical Tools and Resources
How Carers Can Help
How to Make Your Home Dementia-Friendly
A dementia-friendly home can provide comfort, safety, and independence for someone living with dementia. Simple changes to the environment can make daily tasks easier, reduce confusion, and help individuals feel more secure in their surroundings.
Why Create a Dementia-Friendly Home?
As dementia progresses, memory, perception, and problem-solving abilities can be affected. A well-organized, familiar, and accessible home:
Practical Tips for a Dementia-Friendly Home
Room-by-Room Tips
Living Room
Kitchen
Bathroom
Bedroom
Technology to Assist Daily Living
Consider using assistive technology to enhance safety and independence:
Caring for someone with dementia at the end of their life can be a deeply emotional and challenging experience. Providing comfort, dignity, and support is at the heart of end-of-life care. Understanding the needs of the person and planning ahead can help ensure they receive the best possible care during this time.
Understanding End-of-Life Dementia Care
End-of-life care focuses on managing physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. For someone with dementia, this involves:
Signs That End of Life is Near
Dementia progresses differently for everyone, but common signs that someone may be approaching the end of their life include:
Providing Comfort and Care
Planning Ahead
Encourage early discussions about the person’s wishes for end-of-life care, including:
Palliative care teams specialise in providing holistic support for individuals with serious illnesses. They can help manage symptoms, provide emotional support, and ensure care aligns with the person’s preferences.
Supporting Family and Loved Ones
Caring for someone with dementia at the end of their life can take an emotional toll on family members and carers. It’s important to:
After the Person Passes
When the person with dementia passes away, it’s natural to experience a mix of emotions, including grief, relief, or sadness. Allow yourself time to process these feelings and seek support from:
Compassionate Care for the Final Journey
End-of-life care for someone with dementia is about honouring their wishes, ensuring comfort, and cherishing their dignity. While it can be a challenging time, planning and support can help you provide loving and meaningful care in their final days.
If someone you know is becoming increasingly forgetful, encourage them to see their GP to talk about the early signs of dementia.
There are other reasons someone might be experiencing memory loss. However, if dementia is detected early, in some cases its progress can be slowed, and the person affected may be able to maintain their mental function for longer.
Signs of dementia
Although dementia isn’t just about memory loss, it’s one of the key symptoms. Others include:
You may like to suggest that you accompany your friend or relative to the GP so you can support them. This also means that after the appointment, you can help your friend or relative recall what has been discussed.
How to talk to someone you think has signs of dementia
Raising the issue of memory loss and the possibility of dementia can be a very difficult thing to do. Someone who is experiencing these symptoms may be confused, unaware they have any problems, worried or in denial.
Before starting a conversation with someone you’re concerned about, the Alzheimer’s Society suggests that you ask yourself the following questions:
When you do talk to them, choose a place that is familiar and non-threatening and allow plenty of time so that your conversation isn’t rushed.
Caregiving in the early stages
Although most of your loved one’s immediate medical needs can be managed on their own in the early stages, you may need to assist with tasks associated with memory. This can include keeping up with GP appointments and helping manage financial matters, medications, and social and work obligations. At times, they may also need help remembering places, people, words and names. In the early stages, you will want to encourage them to:
Caregiving in the middle stages
This can be the longest period that you will face as a caregiver, as the symptoms can go on during the majority of your loved one’s later years. During this time, you will need to learn to develop patience, flexibility and understanding as their day-to-day functions become more difficult to achieve. Your loved one might need assistance dressing, act out in strange ways or grow frustrated and angry with you, which can be very stressful. Be sure to take care of yourself and reach out to family, friends and other support services to make this transition smoother.
Caregiving in the late stages
The later stages will be the most difficult, as your loved one is now very frail and relies on you for most of their daily care. At this stage, encouraging your loved one to eat and sleep will grow increasingly difficult and they may lose the ability to walk steadily. During this time, an occupational therapist may help them stay mobile without falling, and speech therapists and nutritionists might give you greater insight to their speech and eating patterns. Incontinence, severe memory loss and disorientation, immune system problems, repetitive movements and strange or unusual behaviour must all be managed during this stage as well.
Watching a loved one live with dementia is never easy, but with the proper tools and support in place, you can help them navigate their symptoms to live their life to the best they can. Staying on top of the latest research (google alerts), attending seminars from expert speakers and medical professionals will keep you up-to-date on new treatments and care techniques. Most importantly, find a supportive community! There are many support groups for caregivers where you can share your successes, frustrations, fears and joys with other caregivers. Remember, you are not alone!
Responding to someone in a crisis
Listen don’t offer advice or tell the person what they should do. Listen to their concerns, even if they don’t make sense and reassure that you’re trying to see things from their point of view.
Limit distractions turn down loud noises, retreat to a quieter space with softer lighting and a neutral temperature.
Keep a check of your own body language and tone of voice.
Don’t ask too many questions and keep questions simple and short.
Ask them what would help right now.
Before doing something or calling someone else, ask if this is okay with them.
It’s okay not to know what to do and it can be helpful sharing that. You’re not there to rescue the person; explain that you might need to ask for advice from someone else to help you better support them – crisis team for example.
If you’re aware of triggers for upsetting responses and behaviour, try and remove these or guide the person away from these.
Never put yourself if harms way and always remove yourself from harm if you can. Sometimes this is beneficial to both and can act as a diffuser.
Remember a crisis is something that is outside of your control, is intensely difficult and could lead to harm. In a crisis you need to get support. There may be underlying reasons for the crisis that need medical attention, like an infection.
Who can help?
After the crisis
Crossroads Care – Dementia Carers Resilience Service
01709 464574
info@crossroadsrotherham.co.uk
The Carers Resilience Service is a short term intervention service for carers of people living with dementia, providing information, advice and practical support with the aim to build carers’ resilience. We work together with partners to enable the person with dementia to live at home for as long as possible.
Herbert Protocol
Herbert protocol – People with dementia sometimes get lost and go missing. If you care for someone with dementia you can fill in this form containing information to give to the police if the person goes missing.
Link to the form : Herbert Protocol Sep 2024
Rotherham Crossroads Care can help carers complete the Herbert protocol form:
01709 464574
info@crossroadsrotherham.co.uk
Good example of Equipment, adaptations and technology enabled care
This is a good example of Equipment, adaptations and technology enabled care.
Equipment, adaptations and Technology Enabled Care | Sheffield (sheffielddirectory.org.uk)
Lost Chord
Lost Chord UK (Local & national)
Lost Chord UK Dementia Charity | When words fail, music speaks (lost-chord.org.uk)
Making Space – Rotherham Dementia Carer Support
Tel: 01709 910889
Email: RotherhamCarers@makingspace.co.uk
When a relative, friend or someone you directly care for is experiencing symptoms of dementia, it is good to know that neither you, nor they, have to be alone to meet the challenges ahead.
RMBC Information for Carers
RMBC Information for carers – this includes a wide range of general information for carers and includes a specific section on dementia support – both are helpful for people with dementia and their carers.
Information for carers – Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Rotherham and Doncaster Alzheimer’s Society
Tel: 01709 580543
Email: doncaster@alzheimers.org.uk
Information, advice and support on all aspects of dementia.
Rotherham Carers Forum
Rotherham Carers Forum
Alzheimers Society
0300 222 1122
Information and advice on all aspects of dementia. Open Monday to Wednesday 9am to 8pm, Thursday and Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 4pm.
Dementia UK
0800 888 6678
Information and advice on all aspects of dementia. Helpline staffed by Admiral Nurses. Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 5pm. Closed Bank Holidays.
My House of Memories allows you to explore objects from the past and share memories together. It can be used by anyone, but has been designed for, and with, people living with dementia and their carers.
The NHS App gives you a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet.
You can use the app if you are aged 13 or over. You must be registered with an NHS GP surgery in England or the Isle of Man. You can also log in through the NHS website on a computer to use NHS App services.
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