I completely understand how dementia is horrific in that it eliminates a persons mental faculties causing them to forget anyone and everything they knew, but what/why does it eventually cause death? Is it because their body “forgets” how to function or what?
Side note: maybe I’m wrong in assuming that everyone will die once diagnosed? Is their a spectrum for this?
In: Biology
The most common cause of death in dementia patients is pneumonia (~40%). This is because of lack of coordination between swallowing, breathing etc. which leads to inhalation of food/gastric contents which causes pneumonia (this is called aspiration pneumonia)
Dementia patients will also be more likely to die from other health events such as heart attacks, infections etc. as they become frail quicker and do not have sufficient reserve to cope. They can’t do the basic things involved in maintaining a semblance of health and this leads to decline in all other areas of health.
I guess you could say that people don’t die from dementia but that dementia leads to them dying of other causes which would be survivable by a healthy person.
Your brain starts to deteriorate over time and causes them to lose the ability to use your basic life skills. My grandparents on both sides had it as well as alzheimers, it got to the point they forgot who their grandchildren were as well as losing the ability to basic functions. It’s really sad when you’ve grown up to see some of the smartest people I’ve known go all the way down to basically being a toddler again mentally.
Old people are already more likely to die from things like falls and infections. Dementia makes these things more likely to happen because they are less mentally aware of things, including their own abilities.
An older person without dementia may be more careful because they know they are weaker or more clumsy than they used to be.
But someone with dementia doesn’t think about these things, caausing them higher rate of injury, where injuries are already more deadly at their age.
Saw my grandfather die from it. Basically your brain loses the skills it’s learned in reverse. If you know multiple languages you will probably eventually revert to your mother tongue then lose that as well. Same with motor skills l. Eventually the brain forgets how to work all the different organs glands etc.
My grandfather used to just stare at the ceiling blankly in the end. He was a brilliant man academically. He even forgot his children in the end. I used to visit him on my own on my cycle before he got sick and moved in with us.
Dec 23rd 2003 I left for college again I went in his room to say goodbye. He had forgotten how to speak and didn’t recognise anyone anymore. He looked at me and said my name and weakly squeezed my hand.
I left for college and he died the same night.
He worked for the weather department and travelled places. My house still has all his mementos
my great grandma had dementia and died bc of it. it causes the person to forget things yeah but later on as it worsens they’ll forget how to pee, eat, normal bodily functions and then their vital organs like their heart lungs would fail too. how i think of it is like when ur breathing u dont need to think about doing it like walking cuZ u just do. when the lungs “forget” how to function then thats no good. idk probably best to search it up but thats what my parents told me about it
It’s not the dementia per se that kills them. It’s the overwhelming inability to perform basic human functions that does them in.
They lose ability to communicate properly = they can’t ask for help when they need it.
They spend prolonged periods of time sitting down = they lose muscle mass, grow weak, get poor cardiac and pulmonary function from the immobility
They tend to forget things = errands that are important for life (buying groceries, self hygiene, doctor’s appointments) are often forgotten
Eventually you forgot things like how to swallow properly or cough. Eventually that will lead to respiratory infections.
They forget to eat.stay in bed all day. Usually dementia or alzheimers just causes enough damage to leave you as a vegetable
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