Your guide to understanding dementia

Choosing a home with the right kind of care

Our relationship-centred care approach is especially important for residents living with dementia.

Trust is an essential element of daily life. Only by knowing and understanding an individual’s life journey including their history, personality and the impact of their physical, emotional and lifestyle needs, can we build a trusting relationship that supports their individual care needs.

We tailor the environment, the attention and the support to each individual. And don’t forget the activities. Life is for living, so we ensure every day is as stimulating and enjoyable as possible, and nothing makes us — and residents — happier than the involvement of friends and family.

This brief guide gives you an overview of the way dementia can affect individuals and the ways we can support residents and their loved ones.

What is dementia?

Dementia is an umbrella term for a number of neurological conditions. It is not a natural part of the ageing process, but the result of developing disorders to the nerves with age. The symptoms are caused by physical changes to the brain and can vary due to the individual.

Symptoms vary depending on the type of dementia and the progression of the disease. Typical symptoms include difficulties with short term memory, poor organisational and planning skills, confusion and impaired communication skills, understanding and judgement. Despite these difficulties, people living with dementia will still retain many abilities and skills for many years. The full range of emotions remains intact. People living with dementia can however find the physical environment and changes in routine significant beyond causing wide variations of emotions and the resulting behaviours.

Dementia is progressive, which means that symptoms worsen as time goes by. It most often affects the brain and natural support, but with technology and a thorough understanding of the person can be made more meaningful and much better for both the individual and support network, it might be possible to reduce the need for wandering.

Types of Dementia

Alzheimer’s Dementia

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common of the 4 main types of dementia, and almost 500,000 people in the UK are affected. As Alzheimer’s progresses, the number of nerve cells in the brain slowly reduce and the brain shrinks. At the same time, there’s an increasing shortage of important chemicals involved in the transfer of messages in the brain. Symptoms affect short term memory first and are then transferred to long term skills.

Vascular Dementia

This is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s, and there is an increasing incidence of people being diagnosed with both Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. Vascular dementia is most commonly associated with small strokes and disease. With the blood supply to the brain cut off or reduced, damaged nerve cells in parts of the brain die. In time can lead to the onset of vascular dementia. The symptoms depend on which part of the brain has been affected; they can be similar to those found in other types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Lewy Body Dementia

Lewy bodies are tiny protein deposits found in nerve cells. Where they occur in the brain, they affect the lower levels of the chemical messengers that enable the nerve cells to transmit messages efficiently. This form slows down brain function, making the person appear less mentally and physically able. Lewy bodies occur in both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and where they are identified in the outside layers of the brain, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is likely. Lewy body dementia accounts for around 15% of all dementia diagnoses and results in more rapid decline than Alzheimer’s disease.

Frontotemporal Dementia

Frontotemporal dementia is a relatively rare form of the disease, often occurring in a younger age group of people aged between 45 and 65. The term covers a range of conditions, including Pick’s disease. The condition causes movement of changes in personality and behaviour. Symptoms vary and the first of these are behaviour or personality, behaviour and language. However, symptoms may involve poor judgement or inappropriate behaviour and may have a profound effect on the person’s emotional wellbeing, reasoning and language skills. This form of dementia can have a dramatic effect on an individual’s personality and subsequent behaviours and lifestyle. It may also affect memory, depending on how extensive the damage.

The most common symptoms of dementia

Communication

We all have trouble finding the right word from time to time, but some people living with dementia can forget simple words or struggle to finish a sentence. This can be very upsetting and frustrating for the person. Dementia’s person can also become quiet, which can make conversation a tiring and stressful task.

Disorientation

Someone living with dementia can become lost even in places as familiar as their own home or the road where they live. A person living with dementia may no longer know where they are or how they got there. This kind of disorientation can extend to not knowing where everyday objects are, even items such as toothbrushes or shoes. A person with dementia may experience confusion between day and night many times.

Memory loss

A loss of memory, especially short-term memory, is one of the earliest symptoms of dementia. This typically includes difficulty recalling names or remembering where possessions are and misplacing objects. It begins as mild forgetfulness but advanced stages may forget how to make themselves a cup of tea or even how to dress.

Mood, behaviour and personality changes

Each individual journey with dementia is unique, and therefore may have a person responded to problems with anxiety, fear, confusion and worry. Some people experience irritability, apathy or aggression. They may become more withdrawn from social situations or may not recognise the people that the person has enjoyed, or even angry or feel outbursts.

Why environment matters

Dementia can have a huge impact on people and environments. We design our care homes to support a calm, welcoming environment where familiar surroundings and routines improve recognition and comfort.

Food for life

Mealtimes are important not only for ensuring residents are well nourished and hydrated but also because they are social occasions.

Taking care of daily life

There are many things we all take for granted: getting up, using the bathroom, getting dressed, using the bath, cooking up a meal, getting shopping and so on. For those living with dementia, even everyday tasks can be a huge challenge.

Family and friends

It wouldn’t be home without family. We encourage families and friends to be as involved as possible in their loved one’s lives.

Worried about a loved one?

If you are concerned about your partner or relative’s memory, the first step is always a visit to the GP.

Useful Information

The communities within the Hallmark Care Homes family are members of Dementia Action Alliance. We support a variety of national level support to meet our overall action plan to improve dementia care services.