There is no known reason why some people develop dementia. Often the people who do in fact develop dementia are people we do not expect it to happen to and of course the reverse is also true.
There are many articles written to help people try to keep their brains active in later life. It is important to realise this is no silver bullet as many people who do 'all the right things' will still develop dementia.
However we could do a lot more to educate people during their younger years.
Contact sports are played without any thought to the damage that is being done to the brain. Here people played on while suffering from concussion. It was considered that you did not leave the field unless you had to be carried off. Now people who are knocked out need medical clearance before they can play again. A good start but I do think people need to be aware of the dangers that may occur in later life.
Most adults have little understanding about dementia unless they have been directly involved in the care of someone with it. I personally had very little knowledge about it before I fell in the deep end! I have read widely and researched to find out as much as I can but boy there is so much to learn and no answers!
People who have the answers usually have little understanding.
Alcohol is part of our life style. Younger people often drink until they pass out. People who drink to excess often get involved in physical or verbal altercations. Often they are very aggressive but on sobering up have no memory of their behaviour or what they have said, often very hurtful and erroneous comments. Domestic violence is often associated with alcohol. Alcohol related dementia makes up a significant number of those people with dementia. The majority of younger people have no knowledge that this is a possible outcome of this behaviour. Teaching about this should be part of our Health curriculum.
Good advice, thanks Diane. I will put this post on my FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/MyAlzheimersStory
ReplyDeleteThank Susan.
ReplyDeleteI was one of those people who had no clue to these types of dangers. Mind you when you are young you think you are bullet proof and invincible, but some of the knowledge will stick, I live in hope.
Re alcohol you often see things to tell you so called health reasons for drinking, for example there is something doing the rounds saying a glass of bubbly wine each day help prevent Alzheimer's.
Thanks Di for another helpful post: not a drop has passed my lips this year!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed a wine when I was younger but stopped drinking years ago. I lost the taste and now it takes me hours to drink half a glass! These days I often think it would be lovely to enjoy a nice glass of red wine again!
ReplyDeleteWhat I do think though is that I had no idea about dementia until Mum was diagnosed and I certainly had no idea that these things could be contributing factors.
I can think of someone in their early sixties who is a heavy drinker who regularly has lapses in memory although they wouldn't admit it. Unfortunately we have also had some kids die of alcohol poisoning after parties where large mounts of alcohol are drunk. We are all made aware of the dangers of all sorts of things but I guess the revenue on alcohol makes it something that is swept under the carpet.
You can have a drink tonight...
Maureen has a saying from her youth: 'my drink is water bright'. It may come from some of her relations who were Salvationists. I'm just off for my first one of the day.
DeleteEnjoy!
ReplyDeleteRaced out to get George more Red wine. He just loves his drink each day