Topics About 'Dementia'.

This week I took my sister to her psychiatric appointment. Usually, the facility where she lives transports her to her appointments but I go when I can. Recently she told me she’s been seeing mice in her room and could Bob, my husband, get an exterm...

In Part 1, Life With Kathy Is Never Boring, I take Kathy to her psych appointment. Here in Part 2 we have seen the NP and are in the waiting room waiting for her discharge paperwork. After seeing the NP, Kathy and I sit and wait for her discharg...

I had an elderly female patient with advanced dementia who required a Foley Cath. Her family very much wanted it done, and before her disease progressed, she herself wanted everything done for her as well. Her survival was at risk without the cathete...

This article discusses sundowning, also known as late-day confusion, in patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of Dementia and the best way to plan for and manage it. As a nurse caring for a patient with delirium or dementia, the late afterno...

One of the most frightening things a person may argue that could happen would be that they would slowly start to lose their ability to perform basic tasks like feeding themselves, bathing themselves, or even losing what memory of themselves they once...

Dementia - Nursing Mnemonics D = Drugs E = Eyes and Ears M = Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders E = Emotional Disorders N= Neurological disorder and Nutritional Deficiency T= Tumors and Trauma I= Infection A= Alcohol When I am a...

Chief Complaint An 85-yr-old Cherokee woman living in a skilled nursing facility in Western North Carolina (WNC) has been reluctant to socialize or join in activities. She has lost 10 lbs in the month since she has been admitted. Her hair is unwa...

Dementia is not a specific disease but it is a general term for describing a decline in cognitive abilities (Alzheimer Association 2017). Dementia depicts a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interrup...

Not an article, or peer studied review. Just my take after 8-9 months of battling this virus in a nursing home. It is a well known fact that Covid 19 is causing confusion/ams even in non dementia patients. The problem is worse in dementia patie...

Professionals who work with residents of nursing homes, memory care units, assisted living facilities, geriatric psychiatric centers, and other types of long term care settings experience a mixture of triumphs and stressors on a daily basis. The heal...

I always kind of assumed (yes I know, never assume etc) that after working in this environment nurses and carers become empathic with their patients. Like most of my breed, I am tired, burning out and jadedly cynical but I keep on going, why? Well he...

Therapeutic lying is the practice of telling little 'white lies' or fibs to prevent from agitating the patient with dementia. Even though some of us were taught to never lie to any patient under any circumstances due to ethical issues, please realize...

Recent health-news headlines identified three potentially effective interventions for preventing dementia and cognitive decline: blood pressure control, physical activity, and cognitive training. The interventions were featured in a National Academie...

My mother was recently admitted for a GI virus, acute dehydration and afib out of control. She has dementia but was able to answer questions so my father and I were told to wait outside and they took her for a week. The ED nurse called to give me upd...

What is Frontotemporal Degeneration? Frontotemporal degeneration, or FTD for short, is a progressive neurological disease that affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Other names for FTD include frontotemporal dementia, frontotempora...

I was recently assigned a patient with a history of alcohol abuse who was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS). My knowledge of WKS was limited, so I prepared to care for this patient by conducting a mini kn...

Caring for loved ones with dementia is no easy task. It often requires significant time, dedication, commitment, and sacrifice. Caregivers are often left emotionally and physically drained. It is not uncommon for caregivers to experience feelings of ...