Caring for the Caregiver of people with Dementia

Dementia is a clinical syndrome characterised by the deterioration of cognitive ability. This deterioration alters the ability to perform everyday activities. Memory is the ability that is most often lost with dementia, although other mental faculties are also affected, such as language, orientation, decision-making and judgement.

The deterioration can lead to depression, feelings of isolation, altered behaviour, insomnia and disinhibition. Dementia is chronic and generally progressive.

Caring for people with dementia is an important undertaking for a family, and care is usually provided by a relative, who becomes the main care giver. In some cases, carers are not given enough appropriate information to be able to manage caring for a person with dementia at home, which can lead to the carer feeling overwhelmed and in an altered state of mind, and can even lead to the carer developing other illnesses as a result.