Why does an elderly person not recognize close relatives?

Causes of Memory Loss

Why doesn't an elderly person recognize close relatives? Most often this is due to pathological changes occurring in the central nervous system.

1. Prosopagnosia is a dysfunction of the parts of the brain responsible for recognizing the faces of familiar people. At first, a person does not distinguish facial features; later, he does not understand at all whether the person in front of him is a man or a woman. Rarely, in advanced cases, an elderly person cannot distinguish between animals, birds, etc. Pathology can be suspected when a person looks at photographs and cannot say who is depicted in them. It is from this moment that you should think about it and take appropriate measures.
2. Alzheimer's disease is another disease that accompanies old age. An elderly person does not recognize loved ones, and attention and memory suffer. There is one interesting feature - events that happened a long time ago are remembered well, but what happened recently, even an hour ago, is difficult to remember. A person can perform the same actions and ask questions several times. Later, a violation of orientation in space occurs. It is expressed in pathological forgetfulness of the place of residence; a person does not remember his relatives, where he put an object, etc.

Often, when an elderly person does not recognize close relatives, it is argued that this is due to age. In fact, this may be the manifestation of one of the diseases of the nervous system. You should not hope for improvement or let the situation take its course. You can slow down the manifestation of the pathological process if you contact a specialist - a psychiatrist.

Stroke and its types

A cerebral stroke is a disease when an acute circulatory disorder occurs in one of the areas of the circulatory system of the brain - it occurs when a blood vessel in the brain becomes blocked or ruptures. This leads to disruption of brain function and damage to organ tissue.

According to official statistics in Russia:

* Data from official statistics of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation on the epidemiology of cerebrovascular diseases.

It is possible to regain the skills of self-care and independent movement if you engage in rehabilitation after a stroke - contact specialists in time.

There are two types of stroke: ischemic and hemorrhagic cerebral stroke.

Ischemic cerebral stroke

Ischemic stroke (cerebral infarction) usually occurs when, for various reasons, the blood supply to an area of ​​the brain is sharply limited or stopped.

Predisposing factors for the development of stroke are:

• ischemic pathology of the heart muscle (coronary heart disease);
• hypertonic disease;
• diabetes;
• atherosclerosis;
• atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rhythm);
• arterial hypertension;
• disorders of the blood coagulation system;
• abnormalities in the development of cerebral vessels.

Hemorrhagic cerebral stroke

Hemorrhagic stroke of the brain is understood as a disease resulting from the rupture of an intracerebral vessel and the penetration of blood into the substance of the brain (non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage). In order not to use a complex term, it is often also characterized as a type of stroke with cerebral hemorrhage.

Hemorrhagic stroke can occur when blood pressure rises much higher than normal. Sometimes this disease is caused by severe anxiety, a nervous situation or excessive physical effort.

Symptoms of ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes

What symptoms a person will experience after an impact depends on the affected area. The more centers are affected, the more varied the “manifestations” of a stroke will be.

First of all, the patient will show signs of high blood and intracranial pressure. This can be determined by the following symptoms:

• severe headache that is not relieved by usual remedies;
• heaviness in the head, feeling of fullness, especially in the temporal region;
• darkening and double vision, a feeling as if everything is “floating in a fog”;
• purple complexion;
• hearing loss and tinnitus;
• staggering, slurred speech;
• unusual agitation occurs, tremors in the hands, convulsions;
• vomit.

These symptoms demonstrate that a stroke has occurred, other symptoms will begin to appear a few minutes later.

External signs of hemorrhagic stroke

brighter, by these special manifestations it can be distinguished from other species:

• uncontrollable vomiting;
• chaotic movements followed by paralysis, sometimes with convulsions;
• severe disturbance of consciousness up to loss;
• the face turns deep purple;
• arteries in the neck and forehead swell;
• perspiration on the forehead and deviation of the eyeballs to the side;
• difficulty breathing.

Ischemic stroke

manifests itself more gradually - the more time passes, the more signs can be seen:

• loss of sensitivity occurs: numbness, loss of mobility of individual muscles or limbs;
• disorientation;
• incoherent speech;
• articulation disorder;
• loss in space and time;
• incoherent movements;
• understanding of the meaning of speech disappears;
• acute disturbances of heart rhythm and breathing;
• asymmetry of facial expressions;
• visual and hearing impairment;
• paralysis of one half of the body.

How do older people with memory loss live?

Progressive memory decline negatively affects the social life of an elderly person. It becomes difficult for him to take care of himself. Basic skills are forgotten, speech and self-care deteriorate, and at the same time the quality of life.

Relatives require close care and additional attention, which, as a rule, is not always enough. What's left to do? Seek help from a boarding house for the elderly . There is 24-hour monitoring and high-quality medical care.

Consequences of stroke: vascular dementia

Vascular dementia is one of the most unfavorable variants of the course of chronic ischemic brain disease. Our consultant: Nina Minuvalievna Khasanova, angioneurologist at the First City Hospital of Arkhangelsk.

It has been noted that this disease occurs, as a rule, in old age. The cause of dementia after a stroke is associated with damage to the part of the brain that is responsible for memory or performing certain skills.

Vascular dementia (dementia) is a combination of symptoms that are manifested by deterioration of memory, thinking, and a decrease in the ability to perform skills in everyday life, which either stops or significantly complicates the patient’s independent life and his usual work.

Vascular dementia after stroke is not necessarily an emerging symptom. This condition occurs when there is severe damage to brain tissue or as a result of a repeated stroke against the background of uncontrolled arterial hypertension.

If a person, after suffering a stroke, becomes apathetic, tearful, quickly emotionally exhausted, his mental abilities deteriorate, he ceases to be interested in the life of his family and friends, this may be the first sign of advancing dementia, which requires examination by a doctor for timely treatment.

The onset of post-stroke dementia, unlike, for example, Alzheimer's disease, is acute. For example, on Wednesday a person behaved normally, but on Thursday morning he became aggressive, uncontrollable, and his memory deteriorated sharply. It is very important not to overlook the patient’s recurrent stroke: it may be hidden behind such a sharp deterioration in well-being. Therefore, each such situation is an indication for a medical examination and calling an ambulance.

Vascular dementia as a disease can occur with light intervals. This disease, as it were, erases, layer by layer, the skills that a person has acquired throughout his life.

Dementia after a stroke is necessarily combined with coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and arterial hypertension. In this case, there are always changes in the vessels of the brain, neck, and fundus of the eye. Patients must be periodically examined by a cardiologist to provide assistance and select concomitant therapy.

The risk of developing post-stroke dementia depends on how carefully the relatives or the patient himself monitor his blood pressure, the level of cholesterol and low-density lipoproteins and their correct ratio, blood viscosity, and how carefully all the recommendations of the attending physician are followed.

Recommendations for relatives of a patient with vascular dementia

Unfortunately, modern medicine does not have the ability to effectively treat dementia and prevent its progression. Prescribed medications can only remove or weaken certain unpleasant manifestations of the disease and partially slow down its development. Therefore, the leading importance in providing assistance to patients with dementia belongs to daily comprehensive care for them.

The most important:

1. try to prevent the development of infectious diseases and the worsening of your loved one’s physical illness, as this negatively affects the course of dementia;

2. create a comfortable and simple environment: familiar favorite objects, their location. In a familiar environment, the patient feels most comfortable. The appearance of strangers in the house and moving sharply worsen his condition. In the room where the patient is, there must be a firmly established and familiar order for placing clothes, shoes, and other items of everyday use;

3. control the regimen of taking prescribed medications. Their irregular use or overdose can dramatically worsen the patient’s condition.

Patience is required!

When communicating with a loved one who has dementia, never forget that you are communicating with a sick person whose psyche is disturbed, many of the character traits that previously attracted you have been lost, and their behavior has changed (alas, not for the better). Remember that against the background of rare temporary improvements, the disease, as a rule, will intensify and the patient’s condition will worsen. Personality changes progress, emotional attachments to loved ones and the ability to empathize weaken, grumpiness, stubbornness and resentment increase.

Subsequently, orientation in time, space, and the surrounding environment is disrupted. Patients do not know the date, may get lost in a familiar place, do not always understand where they are, and do not recognize familiar and close people. And although such a person can take care of himself and cope with personal hygiene, he is already losing the skills of using everyday household appliances, such as a telephone, gas stove, TV remote control, etc. Then he can no longer be left alone unattended.

Vascular dementia rarely reaches the level of deep total collapse of the psyche , but over time the sick person becomes a heavy burden for others and relatives. Here are some excerpts from relatives talking about their loved ones with dementia.

“After the stroke, my mother-in-law changed a lot, she became unkind, suspicious, and capricious. The person is simply unrecognizable! Her general health is now good, she even goes out to breathe on a bench at the entrance. He tells his neighbors all sorts of tall tales: either I was going to poison her, or we don’t let her sleep at night, or we lock her in the toilet. The husband talks to her, shames her, but she either denies her stories, even shouts at him or cries that we are slandering her. I once came home from work and smelled strongly of gas. The burner tap on the stove is open. Now we turn off the gas and leave the food in thermoses.”

“I put food for mom, which we immediately eat ourselves, but she says that she’s not a pig to eat something like that, and throws the plate away. I take her hand to take her to the room or the kitchen - she starts twitching and screaming that I’m hitting her. After the stroke, my mother has been living with us for almost three years, but lately she has been wanting to return home. When we leave, we have to lock it with a key, since we left once. We literally missed it in 15 minutes, and she was already gone! They searched all evening, night, morning. We called all her relatives, her friends, hospitals, and morgues. We went around all the neighboring yards. Almost went crazy! Well, an acquaintance works in the police, and he helped us (and a missing person’s report is accepted only after three days). The next day at 12 o’clock she was found on the other side of the city.”

“Mom started talking a lot. Sometimes he talks to an imaginary woman, sometimes he calls me mom, sometimes he calls me sister. I stopped reading completely and often cries.”

In such cases, do not try to convince patients, prove that you are right, or appeal to their conscience, reason, or logic. A person's personality has already been changed by illness. This is no longer the same mother, mother-in-law, wife, father, husband whom you have known all your life. You just need to remember: everything that your loved one does and says is not due to his malice, deceit, or harmfulness. This is a manifestation of the disease. Therefore, try to be patient with his “whims” and “antics”, be attentive, friendly and sensitive when communicating with him, because he still remains your loved one!

Don’t forget that dementia is one of those diseases that must be treated before the first signs appear, so medical supervision and compliance with recommendations for the treatment of chronic diseases that affect the vascular system are the key to a high-quality and fulfilling life at any age.

Steps to prevent stroke

Concluding the story about the consequences of a stroke, I would like to remind you once again: in many cases, a vascular accident can be avoided; for this, the main attention should be paid to prevention. The most significant factors that can be corrected include arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, smoking, increased body weight, and elevated cholesterol levels.

• Physical activity is an effective factor in the prevention of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and arterial hypertension. During physical education, blood properties improve and the risk of blood clots decreases.
• Diet aimed at preventing atherosclerosis: limiting foods containing cholesterol and animal fats. Eat more fruits, vegetables and grains, vegetable oil, and sea fish.
• Smoking cessation: nicotine causes vasoconstriction and stimulates the progression of atherosclerosis.
• Blood pressure control: arterial hypertension and atherosclerosis are closely related diseases, so their treatment and prevention must be carried out in parallel.
• Control of blood fat levels: disturbances in blood lipid composition lead to the development of atherosclerosis, which increases the risk of stroke.
• Fighting diabetes mellitus: this disease is associated with an increased risk of vascular damage and intensive development of atherosclerosis.

Material: Irina Shaposhnikova

Photo: Vladimir Trefilov

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