‘Growing’: Horror disease killing Aussies

It’s that low-hanging unreality that millions of america tin spot hovering connected the horizon, threatening to rainfall connected america successful our aged age: dementia.

For some, that unreality is conscionable a speck successful the distance, but for those who person been lapping the prima for 7 oregon much decades, it mightiness conscionable beryllium clip to commencement packing the umbrella.

The taxable for this year’s Dementia Action Week is ‘Act Now for A Dementia Friendly Future’ – but, of course, dementia is not a affable word.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) issued a sobering study earlier this year, jam packed with precise concerning statistic and an upward trending curve intimately resembling a Winter Olympics skis jump.

They estimation that successful 2023, determination were a staggering 411,100 Australians surviving with dementia. Based connected AIHW estimates, this is equivalent to 15 radical with dementia for each 1000 Australians, which increases to 84 radical with dementia for each 1000 Australians aged 65 and over.

Our ageing colonisation means that sadly, that fig is growing.

What is besides alarming astir this study (especially if you are female) is that astir two-thirds of Australians with dementia are women, making it the fig 1 origin of decease for women successful our state and a adjacent 2nd origin of decease for our Aussie blokes.

So what is this horrible illness and however tin we enactment to marque our communities much dementia friendly?

You whitethorn beryllium amazed to larn that dementia is not a circumstantial disease. It is an umbrella word utilized to picture a fig of disorders which are characterised by symptoms affecting memory, behaviour and the quality to interact with others.

More literally, it involves the shrinking of areas of the encephalon arsenic a effect of nervus cells dying and past ceasing to relation oregon execute the mundane tasks we instrumentality for granted and for which they were designed to do.

The main types of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Lewy assemblage disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), Huntington’s disease, alcohol-related dementia (Korsakoff syndrome) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Each has its ain symptoms and causes, but determination are galore similarities betwixt them arsenic well. Different types of dementia tin besides nutrient differing symptoms successful individuals, depending connected which country of the encephalon the harm has occurred.

My mother’s diagnosis of FTLD successful 2014 was undeniably a shock. The quality of her peculiar marque of dementia meant mum was unaware of her condition, adamantly asserting her absolutely-nothing-wrong-with-me presumption whenever she had the chance.

We spent astir a decennary watching connected and, arsenic our parent continued to succumb to cognitive decline, determination was plentifulness of clip to ponder what was adjuvant and what was not – and what attitudes oregon actions of others could beryllium deemed dementia friendly.

While determination is undoubtedly a increasing ambiance of acceptance and consciousness of dementia successful the community, we are not determination yet. I can’t number the fig of times I’d beryllium retired successful nationalist with mum erstwhile her incoherent babbling – and let’s say, astatine times, antithetic behaviour – would garner disapproving looks coupled with a wide berth.

I was grateful for those who showed knowing and not discrimination, similar the fantastic pistillate who served america successful a formal shop. When mum whipped retired her Medicare paper and handed it implicit for payment, the caring, perceptive income adjunct simply smiled astatine my mum, swiped the wholly ineffective paper and took my recognition paper for existent outgo successful secret, leaving mum nary the wiser.

It meant truthful much. I wanted to hug her. She was the embodiment of dementia affable behaviour.

Eventually having to determination mum into full-time care, the stroke was somewhat softened by the compassionate, eternally diligent staff, trained specifically successful dealing with dementia.

More enactment is being done to not lone bid staff, but to tailor aged attraction facilities to the circumstantial needs of dementia sufferers, allowing them to proceed to thrive and bask beingness successful a harmless and affable situation agelong aft their diagnoses.

While we proceed to anticipation and commune for a breakthrough and, situation we say, a cure with ongoing dementia research, we besides request to enactment towards much acceptance and little fearfulness astir the disease.

The Australian authorities is presently moving to make a 10-year National Dementia Action Plan, seeking proposal from radical surviving with dementia, including their families and carers, to supply strategies for raising awareness, lifting the stigma and making our communities much dementia friendly.

In the meantime, spare a thought for those caring for loved ones suffering from immoderate benignant of dementia and amusement kindness wherever you can. It won’t spell unnoticed, I tin guarantee you.

Sarah Jones is the writer of Dementia, Who Are You and What Have You Done With My Mother? which is disposable to buy here oregon done selected publication stores