Some elderly people with Alzheimer's can get very aggressive as they get older.
We seem to have this vision of the elderly being all sweetness and light and smiling their way through old age, patting little kids on the head, not complaining or being 'difficuls'.
But is Alzheimer's sets in their personality can change dramatically.
My Mum was an example of this. She was always a fairly jolly person, but when she deteriorated into senile dementure she started trowing cups of tea at other residents in the old peoples home and even broke a bone in a nurses hand when she tried to take her for a hairdressers appointment.
The nurse thanked me later as she as of work for 6 weeks in the summer.....!
A lot of elderly and care homes drug the patients until they just sit about all day in a stupor. No more trouble for the staff but painful for visiting relatives (see ad above)
The organisation CANHR is all about stopping excessive use of drugs in the elderly.
There are also visionary doctors expounding alternative ways of treating the elderly. For instance there is a program called "Awakenings" which isn't just about reducing drugs. Personalised care plans use exercise, aromatherapy, pets and other methods.
This is all well and good but with numbers of baby boomers rising each year, most health insurers are not willing or able to finance these schemes.
No comments:
Post a Comment