Gradual damage is actually something that happens over time. An incident like this does not happen in one sudden moment. One of the most important things that cause gradual damage would be dementia. To those who do not know, dementia actually causes damage a little at a time, especially to the brain. It is better for many people worldwide to at least know more about the condition.
According to the World Health Organization website where they stated, “Dementia is a syndrome in which there is deterioration in cognitive function beyond what might be expected from the usual consequences of biological aging”. That is important to know.
As mentioned in the picture above, 8.5% of Malaysians aged 60 years old and above are possible to suffer from dementia. There are indeed signs and symptoms that people could look at so that they become much more aware of this condition in their own life.
Early Stage
- Forgetfulness
- Always get lost in familiar places
- Losing track of time
Middle Stage
- Tend to forget people’s names and also recent events
- Always confused while at home
- Get more and more difficult to communicate
- Need help with personal care
- Changes in behavior. For example, would always wander around and repeatedly ask questions
Late Stage
- Become less aware of time and places
- Harder to recognize relatives or even friends
- Increasing need for assisted self-care
- Hard to walk by themselves
- More behavior changes that could get worse to a point of aggression
People should at least have some knowledge about it so that they know of the condition. As of now, there is still no treatment available to cure dementia once and for all. There are only anti-dementia medicines and disease-modifying therapies developed.
Sources: Twitter KKMPutrajaya, World Health Organization, CDC.