After the age of 90, almost 70% of older adults suffer from this disease.
Merida Yucatán, August 25, 2020.-It is not that other doctors cannot care for older adults due to various pathologies, but just as children are treated by a pediatrician, older adults should be attended by a geriatrician, said Dr. Alba Diaz de Noriega Alonso, Geriatric Physician of the Hospital Mérida Susulá APP Clinic of the ISSSTE.
Dementia is known as the set of social thoughts and symptoms that interfere with everyday life. Dementia is not a specific disease, but a group of disorders characterized by the deterioration of at least two brain functions, which are memory and reason.
Symptoms include forgetfulness, restricted social skills, and reasoning so limited that it interferes with daily activities. Medications and therapy can help control symptoms. Some causes are reversible.
The specialist pointed out that older adults continually suffer from forgetfulness, they complain that they do not remember some things and this while they can continue with their activities, is not a cause for concern, but at the moment they repeatedly forget important things such as paying their bills, don’t remember where the keys are, whether the water heater stayed on or not; if they left the stove on; if they continually make mistakes when cooking, forget names of friends and family, or language problems among other symptoms, it is time to turn to a specialist, but if this is not the case, they can safely continue with their life. Forgetting things is human.
The specialist said that the suffering of dementia does not respect age but affects more people over 60 years of age, there are episodes of deconcentration that combined with chronic degenerative diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, can cause depression, anguish and in some cases the premature death of a geriatric patient.
It is necessary to understand that for dementia there is no cure, it is the result of an inadequate diet and lack of exercise in youth, age if excesses count sooner than later, very few people take care of their brain function.
While they are still young, people must exercise their memory with the practice of brain gymnastics, and mental mobility games, such as word games.
People who read, analyze and study make their mind work and be in constant movement, this is essential to enjoy a life in fullness in the so-called third age.
It is important, said the ISSSTE geriatrician, to understand that older adults cannot be as fast as a young person, they do not learn in the same way, but they can train their mind and body despite suffering from degenerative diseases.
Dementia can cause hallucinations in some cases, a consequence of vision problems, nutritional deficiencies, or suffering from Delirium. Older adults suffer from depression, anxiety, and thyroid problems, especially in these times of COVID-19, so you have to be patient and treat them with understanding and immense love.
