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HOW DOES DEMENTIA CAUSE DEATH
Dementia is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. How does dementia cause death? Caregivers and the entire family need the facts to known and understand this fatal condition that so many face each year. Dementia patients often pose particular challenges to caregivers as they approach the end of their lives. It’s challenging to think of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Dementia as terminal disorders because people can live with them for years. They do, however, result in death. So, in this guideline, we will look at how dementia causes the death of a patient.
Dementia triggers a progressive loss of thought, remembering, and cognitive skills, making it difficult for those receiving end-of-life treatment to realize what is needed. People with advanced dementia are unable to voice their thoughts because they are unable to articulate clearly.
Caregivers’ choices regarding end-of-life care become more complicated if the dying person has not expressed a preference for care. Someone newly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease may be unable to envision the disease’s later stages.
What is Dementia?
Dementia is a disorder in which the brain’s function gradually deteriorates. Dementia affects general brain activity, including the brain cells that regulate movement and swallowing. It’s generally thought of as “memory loss.”
Alzheimer’s disease, the most prevalent form of dementia, is the 6th most significant cause of mortality in American adults; if you know, the final stages of dementia before death can help you understand how dementia leads to death.
Dementia’s Progression
Dementia is a condition that develops steadily and inexorably. According to doctors, the following are symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in its final stages:
- Inability to drive about freely
- Needing assistance with the bulk, if not all, everyday tasks, such as eating and self-care
- Inability to communicate or make oneself understood
- Concerns with feeding, such as trouble swallowing
Happenings in the later stages of dementia?
- Gradual memory loss
- Since the person with dementia cannot remember close family members, this can be an incredibly distressing period for family and caregivers.
- Physical skills are weakening at a faster rate.
- Most people with dementia lose their ability to walk, shower, dress, and eat on their own over time. They can also be affected by other illnesses such as stroke or arthritis. The person will ultimately confine to a bed or a chair.
- Dementia causes a person’s ability to comprehend what is said to them and deteriorate around them.
- They can lose their ability to talk gradually, repeat a few sentences, or scream out from time to time. However, it is essential to maintain contact with them. Remember that while specific skills are lost as dementia progresses, some remain, such as touch and the ability to respond to emotions.
- It’s normal for people with dementia to lose a lot of weight in their later stages.
- People may lose their ability to eat or drink or not remember the food served to them. Some people have trouble swallowing.
- Offering dietary supplements can be essential. Nutrition supplements may consider for consumption other than by mouth if a person has swallowing problems or is not eating food or drink for a prolonged period, and their health is suffering.
Towards the end of life
Family and caregivers may find it challenging to prepare for the end, but thinking about it and making preparations may be a little easier. When anyone is nearing the end of their life, one of the most important considerations is to keep them as relaxed and pain-free as possible. Discuss your concerns with the doctor and nursing staff if you think the person with dementia is in pain or discomfort.
How does Dementia cause death?
Individuals with Dementia disease lose their ability to interact and adapt to their surroundings as the disease progresses—the breakdown of body systems such as the lungs, heart, and digestion caused by brain injury. Individuals who are moving toward the finish of their lives frequently need nonstop treatment to stay agreeable.
Another illness may be the cause of a person’s death if they have dementia. They’ll most likely become fragile as time goes on. When dementia progresses, their ability to deal with diseases and other physical conditions may harm. An acute illness, such as pneumonia, may rush death in many cases.
Causes leading to death
1. Aspiration
The brain regulates our ability to control swallowing and breathing. This ability loses in end-stage dementia. Your loved one may become dehydrated or inhale food or fluids, causing coughing and aspiration cases of pneumonia in the chest. These are potentially lethal.
2. Frailty
People with dementia struggle to eat well and remain healthy as they progress. They will find it challenging to shop for and prepare meals, and as a result, they will avoid eating and lose weight. They lose muscle function and may be unable to chew or drink as the disease progresses. Individuals who are malnourished can become frail and fragile, placing them at risk of falls, injuries, and infections, all of which can lead to death.
3. Accidents
Accidents in the home and when out can be compounded by memory loss and difficulties in planning and executing complex activities. Falls and dangerous fractures are more likely when mobility, stability, and spatial perception are all affected. All these things ultimately lead to the death of a patient.
4. No self-care
As dementia progresses, toileting and maintaining personal hygiene become more difficult. Numerous individuals fail to keep a grip on their bladder and entrails as the sickness advances. It raises the risk of urinary tract infections, leading to delirium, depression, and falls. They can be fatal, especially in the elderly.
5. Skin ulcers
Bedsores that have become infected can be fatal. Dementia patients confine to a bed or a wheelchair as their ability to travel deteriorates. They are vulnerable to skin breakdown and pressure ulcers because they are unable to move independently. These ulcers can cause sepsis and death if they become infected.
Alzheimer’s disease causes both physical and mental functions to deteriorate over time. Muscles stiffen, and your loved one will need assistance to travel and handle all aspects of everyday life. It can increase the risk of developing pressure sores and ulcers, becoming infected, and putting the person at risk.
6. UTI complications
Infections are especially harmful to people with late-stage dementia. Urinary tract infections are common in people who can’t get to the toilet. However, detecting a UTI in an adult with dementia, particularly if that person has lost their ability to communicate, maybe extremely difficult.
The infection may also spread outside the urinary system, resulting in a full-body infection and sepsis. The body’s organs can shut down as a result of sepsis. Sepsis is a life-threatening disease.
7. Pneumonia
Swallowing problems, which expect late-stage dementia, raise the risk of aspiration pneumonia, pneumonia caused by unintentionally inhaling food or liquids into the lungs. Pneumonia can also be fatal if left untreated. Aspiration pneumonia kills the majority of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
8. Dehydration
Dehydration can kill a person with late-stage dementia who avoids infection. It’s important to remember, however, that dehydration at this point is not due to neglect. As death approaches, a lack of interest in food and water is natural. The person is not hungry or thirsty, and their body is shutting down, rendering them unresponsive.
9. Weak muscles Strength
In the days leading up to death, a person’s circulation slows down, allowing blood to concentrate on their internal organs. It suggests that only a small amount of blood is still flowing to their hands, feet, or legs.
A dying person’s skin will be cold to the touch due to decreased circulation. Their skin can appear pale or mottled, with blue or purple patches.
Likely, the person who is dying does not feel cold. When a parent or friend feels they might need one, giving them a blanket is a good idea.
What can a caregiver do?
When anyone with dementia fails, you can assist them by being a caring and compassionate presence. Take elderly hands hand in yours. Play the music that they love. Quite possibly the primary endowments you can ship off a friend or family member to help them maintain their issues in control.
Be sure you have financial and healthcare powers of attorney in place so you can make decisions if your loved one becomes incapacitated. Make funeral plans ahead of time, so you don’t have to make crucial decisions during a crisis.
Conclusion
From this guide, we have come to realize that dementia is a massive disease, and it slowly leads your elderly to the deaths you might know; Dementia is a general term for several disorders. There are different forms of dementia in the elderly. While there is no way to eliminate dementia, there is a range of activities to reduce the risk-avoiding tobacco use and excessive alcohol intake, maintain a healthy weight, and avoid head injuries.
Furthermore, if one of our elders gets this disease, we should not worry, but we should keep caring for them properly because dementia is becoming a significant cause of death for the elderly. So we should take action from there to not bring our elders to the brink of extinction but save them from death.
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