Dementia & Losses

• Confusion: An impairment of mental functioning

  • assess for orientation status

    - time

    - place

    - situation

    - person

  • possible causes

    - lack of fluids

    - loss of cognitive function

    - pain

• Delirium: an acute organic mental disorder characterized by an abrupt onset over hours to days

  • state of consciousness

  • acute brain syndrome: temporary with delusions, difficult to process, receive, retain stimuli

  • symptoms

    - hallucinations

    - confusion

    - distractibility

    - disorientation

  • causes

    - diabetic reaction

    - drug/alcohol toxicity

    - dehydration

    - malnutrition

    - head trauma

• Dementia: a slow & progressive loss of brain function that is irreversible & chronic (cognitive)

  • dementia subtypes / causes

    - alzhimers’s disease: cerebral disease

    - vascular dementia: caused by stroke / blood flow in brain

    - HIV

    - head trauma

    - Parkinson's disease

    - Creutzfeldt / Jakob disease

  • Symptoms

    - impaired memory & judgement

    - personality changed

    - decreased cognitive function

    - impaired disorientation

  • Medications

    - Haldol: Dopamine

    - Aricept: Acetylcholine

    - Namenda: Glutamate

  • Nutrition

    - finger foods

    - frequent feedings

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