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P3- Explain the benefits of early diagnosis of dementia.
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P3- Explain the benefits of early diagnosis of dementia. I got a pass on this piece of coursework (the highest grade you can get on this module)
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Mosun Daboiku D000621 Unit 16 Centre Number: 33711P3- Explain the benefits of early diagnosis of dementia.
There are many benefits an individual can gain from having an early diagnosis for dementia
such as: ruling out other medical conditions, to have an awareness of access to services and
types of services available, to gain access to benefits and to gain access to benefits.
Ruling out other medical conditions:
An early diagnosis of dementia can rule out other conditions that may be giving the same
symptoms as dementia. Chest infections, strokes, thyroid, liver and cardiovascular problems
can produce dementia-like symptoms. Vision-related problems in older people also produce
dementia-like symptoms such as poor spatial awareness, they might fall over objects or
bump into things. Poor hearing could mean that they might have difficulty following a
conversation, making them confused and withdraw themselves from the conversation. For
this a simple eye or hearing test can help reduce their issues and prevent them from being
misdiagnosed with dementia. This can benefit the individual because ruling out other
potential conditions can give them a piece of mind and can also be given relief for their
symptoms, to ease pain and also stress. The individuals family and friends can also be
benefitted because they can also have a piece of mind, if they were worried about what the
condition could potentially be. This will also give them more time to spend with the
individual if the condition is quite severe.
To gain access to medication to slow down dementia:
Even though there are no medication to stop, or prevent dementia, there are medications
that individuals can take that lessen the symptoms. Medications include cholinesterase
inhibitors which are given in the early stages of dementia. They are prescribed to treat
symptoms that are related to thinking, memory, judgement and cognitive processes.
Another medication that can be given to delay the worsening of symptoms is memantine.
Memantine works by controlling the activity of glutamate which is a chemical that is
involved in processing, storage and retrieval of information. It is prescribed in the moderate
to severe stages of dementia. Memantine improves attention, memory, language and
reasoning. Having an early diagnosis helps the individual to be treated on time and
therefore increases the quality of life for that individual.
To have an awareness of access to services and types of services available:
Another benefit of early diagnosis is getting early access to service to improve an individual's
quality of life. One of the services that can be used are admiral nurses. Admiral Nurses give
one-to-one specialist dementia support that families need. Dementia UK gives specialist
dementia support for families through Admiral Nurse service. When communication gets
hard, they help families stay connected to the person with dementia. If the person is
showing signs of fear and distress, nurses help create strategies to make them feel safer and
more comfortable. If families are struggling to cope with symptoms e, Admiral Nurses co-
ordinate local services to get them the best care possible and help support them. Home care
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