The human brain has the biggest role in our daily lives. It is the most complex part of our body and without our brain we wouldn’t have life. The brain is what we use in everything we do and is responsible for our memory our movement, pain, thoughts and emotions.
Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is both defined as both loss of memory and brain disorder. This disease is most common to older people aged 65 years old and older. This condition causes individuals to loss interest in each and everything they do. Eventually the disease causes individuals to not even understand, think or remember things. People with this problem become apathetic or uninterested and they may even begin to hallucinate.
Important Disclaimer: this blog is post is designed to help first aiders understand common issues that may arise during scene assessment and secondary survey. Treating patient s) with alzheimers can make the emergency 
situation much more difficult. Enrol in first aid training (sign up here) and ask your instructor on how to manage these situations.
WHAT CAUSES ALZHIEMER’S DISEASE
This disease is common among older individuals. This disease is a hereditary disease, which means it is strongly tied to genetics. If you have brother, sister or a parent that has Alzheimer’s disease then you are at high risk to get this disease. However, nobody is immune to this disease as 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 will suffer from this disease.
Additional factors include a history of head trauma and having a high blood pressure for a long time. This disease is also very common to women. If your family member is experiencing this disease do not be afraid to ask for medical help. The Alzhiemers society is a great guide if you are concerned that a loved one is portraying symptoms (more information here).
UNDERSTANDING THE SYMPTOMS OF ALZHIEMER’S DISEASE
A key point to remember is that typically the first symptoms of Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease is forgetfulness followed by a change in the person’s emotional behaviour This behaviour includes how the person talk, think and pays attention. The symptom of this disease will unfortunately slowly get worse.
There are two types of Alzheimer’s disease
- Early Onset: This is less common than late onset since this disease start before 60 years of age but this disease will get worse more quickly.
- Late Onset: This is the most common to people aged 65 and over. The symptom will start slowly until it gets worse.
TREATMENT
A person with this disease needs a lot of support and help from family members. Although this disease doesn’t have a cure, understanding the person with this problem and supporting them will help minimize the symptoms from getting worse.
There are medicines that a doctor could recommend to slow down the Alzheimer’s disease and there are some psychological test that could help the person to control the symptoms but still this people who suffered from this disease needs tender loving care from their loved one and family member.
Some Popular Medications Associated with Treating Alzheimer’s include:
- Razadyne®
- Exelon®
- Aricept®
- Namenda®
Related Information
Many individuals that work in care homes must attend workplace approved first aid courses (register here) which teach individuals how to help recognize and manage first aid emergencies. However, when treating individuals with Alzheimers completing a secondary survey or scene assessment can be difficult. It is important to factor in known diseases such as Alzheimers to any scene assessment.
Related Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wv9jrk-gXc