Where is the line between dementia and foolishness?
What applies to diagnosis and care?
Experts discussed this at a panel discussion.
Miesbach - It's an oppressive scenario.
District Administrator Olaf von Löwis walks through the town.
A close friend comes towards him.
Barefoot.
Confused.
“He doesn't recognize me.” Löwis swallows - and concludes: “A terrible feeling.” The friend was suffering from dementia.
Löwis told his story on Wednesday evening - at the opening of the panel discussion “What's going?
- What remains? ”In the Waitzinger cellar.
Around 40 guests accepted the invitation from the district senior representative Christine Dietl on the occasion of the Bavarian Dementia Week.
Stephen Hank, editor-in-chief of the local newspaper, led experts and family members through the discussion.
The goal: Education about the disease and the support options.
Dementia: disease and diagnosis - expert targets drugs
Löwis admitted with a look at his own nausea: “I ask myself: Are the first signs of dementia?” Moderator Hank passed the question to Prof. Dr. Stefan Lorenzl continues. The chief physician for neurology at the Agatharied hospital said: “From the age of 50 it is normal to think about names and faces.” This is different with disorientation and behavioral problems: “These are serious signs.” Is it really dementia behind it? A screening test, tube examinations or the examination of the cerebral water provided clarity, said Lorenzl.
On the development of the disease, Prof. Dr.
Michael Riedel, Medical Director of the Marion von Tessin Memory Center: “There is the hereditary component.” But: It plays a subordinate role.
Organic, reversible causes are also decisive.
Diet is similar, often influenced by medication in old age.
Riedel asked: "If I swallow 15 tablets: Am I still hungry?"
According to Dr.
Hans Brunner, specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy at the Schön Klinik Bad Aibling, many.
“The crux of the matter is that there is no human-like model for testing.” So far, attempts have failed due to side effects.
Lorenzl sees other prevention options in keeping the brain active.
The social cut of the pandemic could also have consequences, he warned.
Burden for relatives - "Time off is important"
Brigitte Schütz knows this very well.
The family member said that her sick husband used to celebrate his birthday with many friends.
A handful are left over.
A lady comes to the crossword puzzle.
A man helps with bathing.
Schütz divides the care fund benefits among the helpers.
“I'm tied up, persuade my husband to go for a walk, try to make him laugh once a day.” She uses day care twice a week.
“Time-outs are important to gain strength.” What is your greatest wish?
“That my husband can stay at home longer.
He feels good - and I am glad that he is there. "
The disease also crept into Gabriele Koch-Neubauer's husband.
“He often asked: Who are you?” Friends thought that was irony and found it funny, said Koch-Neubauer.
Until the diagnosis was made.
“That was a relief.” Her husband is now being looked after in a nursing home.
"It was the right decision," she said.
Angela Schattenhofer, head of a self-help group for relatives at the hospice group, sees the reversal of roles in the partnership as the greatest burden.
"Relatives get lonely, are overwhelmed, contacts break off." Life changes by 180 degrees.
Is it allowed to lie to dementia in this change?
Lorenzl answered this question from the public in the negative.
To avoid conflict, however, one can create an “alternative reality” - as long as it does not harm the person concerned and it does not concern existential issues.
Riedel also advised with a view to the aggressiveness of some sick people: "Then the sky was green yesterday."
Care and support: "No patient will admit: I have that"
If you suspect that a relative may be ill, at some point only gentle pressure on the person concerned will help to seek medical advice.
"No patient will admit: I have it," said Riedel.
If necessary, a doctor's visit can also take place at home.
After all, Hank wanted to know whether there was enough care and support in the district.
The district administrator confessed: “We're not very good at that.” He wanted to take on the subject more.
Riedel suggested shared apartments with therapy places, night clinics or crisis intervention teams.
“No state manages to institutionalize dementia care,” Lorenzl pointed out.
But flat shares are a start.
Also read: Alzheimer's: Pharmaceutical company from Miesbach develops new form of therapy
You will receive a selection of all relevant news and stories in our free newsletter regularly and directly by email.
Register here for Tegernsee, here for Miesbach and here for Holzkirchen.
(nap)