In: Nursing
Compare and contrast normal aging, dementia and delirium.
Normal aging is accompanied by a memory loss, having the following salient features;
People not in a position to remember details of a conversation or event that had taken maybe a year ago.
People not being able to remember the name of their acquaintances
Forgetting about things and events frequently
Have difficulty in finding words occasionally
People get worried about their memory but their relatives don’t
The following are salient features; of dementia and delirium
People not being able to recall details of events recently occurred or conversations
Not recognizing family members and knowing their names
Frequently forgetting things or events
While finding words frequently pausing and substituting
Relatives being worried about people’s memory, people not being aware of any problems.
While delirium is a person’s developing of a difficulty in focusing or paying attention. Delirium occurs abruptly, with a fluctuation in the symptoms. Further, delirium is reversible while aging is not reversible.