NHS Fife Dementia Nurse Consultant Helen, gives some information on dementia.
Dementia is a term that covers several conditions but what they all have in common is that they affect your brain and make it work less well.
The effects progress over time but a lot can be done to help you live well with Dementia.
Hello, my name is Helen.
What is dementia? There are over 100 causes of dementia most of which are very rare and it is possible to have more than one type of dementia at the same time. Different types of dementia can have different symptoms but what they all have in common is that your brain cannot work as well as it should.
Up to 90,000 people in scotland have dementia so you are not alone.
Everything that we do is controlled by our brain. It analyses and makes sense of what we see and hear. It helps us to do things like think, move, speak and write. It contains all our memories.
When someone has dementia it is because some of the brain cells are damaged and dying. This affects how we are able to remember, think and act and why it is more difficult to manage everyday activities. Remember, these changes can be gradual. Although it may become difficult to continue with some of your more usual activities, you may rediscover other things to enjoy. For example, painting, walking, sorting out your family photographs or listening to music.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia overall but there are other rarer types of dementia too.
People can live for years with dementia. This will vary from person to person and will depend on many things, like the type of dementia you have and whether you have other health conditions. Every person with dementia will experience it differently. People who know you may notice your symptoms more than you do yourself.
At the moment, there is no cure for dementia but a lot can be done to help cope with the various symptoms and enable you to live well with the diagnosis of dementia.