However, even if the person with dementia and caregivers communicated clearly while the disease was in early stages, things can change. Symptoms can progress more or less quickly and resources may dwindle. Caring for someone in late stage dementia can be intense, demanding, and rewarding — all in a single day.
Nurses, doctors, home health aides, physical and occupational therapists, and hospice workers can help you take care of physical and medical needs. Mental health professionals, members of a faith community, and friends can help you meet emotional, social, and spiritual needs. The National Institute on Aging points out that caregivers can experience confusion, depression, anxiety, fatigue, and grief at times. Palliative care addresses the overall well-being of people with chronic illnesses like progressive brain disorders and dementia.
Palliative care and end-of-life hospice care are not the same thing. Dementia is not a disease. While dementia itself may not cause death, the result of progressive brain disorders eventually cause death. They damage brain and nerve cells and can lead to pneumonia, stroke, falls, infections, and malnutrition that are often fatal. Over time, symptoms will become more severe, and people will need more help caring for themselves. Many people wonder how to prevent dementia. We explore causes, symptoms, treatment, and….
For some, confusion and disorientation may be among the first symptoms to appear. For others, it could be changes in communication or judgement. With these changes can come depression, further complicating matters. No matter how it begins, the list keeps growing.
Symptoms expand to include memory impairments, hallucinations, sleep issues, changes in personality, and more. The road may be different, but most cases of dementia have the same destination. During the late stages, a person is rendered unable to perform the daily activities of life, and they require around the clock care.
Sometimes 24 hour care is not enough. When dementia has taken its toll on a person and they are nearing death, the signs and symptoms are a defining part of their everyday being. They are unable to take care of themselves and require constant supervision. Nor can they make decisions or communicate their most basic needs. Their body cannot control simple functions such as bowel movements, speaking, or even swallowing.
One of the reasons dementia leads to death is because of the characteristics of this stage. There are severe physical needs that if left uncared for, will cause the person to die.
Although they are still conscious to some extent, they are no longer able to function on their own. Because of the nature of advanced dementia, the brain cells increasingly die off which affects every aspect of the individual.
Not only does the person go through a major decrease in quality of life, but the reality is their body also begins to slowly decay. One of the biggest causes of death with dementia is co-existing or underlying conditions. Many people with dementia also have other medical problems that dementia either worsens or contributes to.
For example, someone with heart disease or previous heart attack might have a harder time with dementia because their body will not be able to sustain them as well as someone with an otherwise normal medical history. Another person with osteoarthritis might experience more severe physical symptoms during the mid or final stages of dementia as their bone mass is already dwindling.
Pre-existing mental health issues can also play a huge role in dementia progression. Health conditions can result in sooner death in someone with dementia. As symptoms accumulate, a person loses touch with their environment and ability to sustain health. Dementia is fatal because it eventually results in total deterioration of brain cells and proteins responsible for human functioning. There is no way to keep living an active life if the physical matter in the brain is dying off day by day.
That might sound bleak, but with dementia, it is important to know the reality of the condition and prepare to make the most out of the remaining time one does have. Since all stages of dementia cause impairment to thinking and reasoning, accidents are one of the most widely seen causes of death among patients.
It is not uncommon for people with dementia to forget things like leaving their stove or oven on, resulting in a gas leak or fire hazard. Additionally, accidents might happen during everyday tasks that cause bad falls, slips, or broken bones. Drowning in the bath or dangerous improper use of household appliances can lead to disaster. Those with later stage dementia eventually cannot swallow food and water on their own. This is another major cause of death. People can choke and die.
Something called aspiration pneumonia is rampant in dementia cases. Mobility, stability and spatial awareness can all be impaired, leading to an increased danger of falls and dangerous fractures.
In the later stages of dementia , people struggle to eat well and stay healthy. They may find buying and preparing meals a challenge, go off their food and lose weight. Towards the end of the illness, they lose muscle control and may be unable to chew and swallow. Without nourishment, individuals can become frail and weak and at risk of falls, fractures and infections, which could lead to death. The brain controls our ability to co-ordinate swallowing and breathing.
In end-stage dementia, this skill is lost. Your loved one may become dehydrated, or they may inhale food or fluids which can lead to choking and chest infections called aspiration pneumonias.
These can be life-threatening. Many people living with dementia also have other chronic conditions like heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease. Toileting and managing personal hygiene become more difficult as dementia develops. In the late stages, many people lose control of their bladder and their bowels.
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