Elderly
people usually develop many complaints and often need to live with it with the
help of medicines. The persisting nature of disease and dependency of medicines
can deteriorate them further in mental health with impinge on hope. Good
quality of life is very much essential in old age or otherwise more than
suffering to themselves, they will also become a burden to their family. So, with
the fear of disease, they will be perfectly taking the list of medicines
prescribed.
They
are also often piled with mental stress and sleeplessness because of their
anxiety, expectations (love / finance for survival) and fear about future. It
can also reflect in their blood pressure, appetite, attention, activities, etc.
While getting treatment, they are very keen to have sleeping pills also to have
so
und sleep (to forget all their worries at least with sleep). Sleeping pills
are really a boon for them. Anyhow with habit forming and continuous usage, adverse
effects like forgetfulness, lack of concentration, confusion, tremours, weakness,
dizziness, hallucinations, slow heart beat, constipation, etc are inevitable. If
they are not coping up with circumstances, in course of time, they may also develop
mind disorders like depression, mania, etc. Further even without any stress, memory
related disorders can occur in elderly people because of atrophy of brain with
ageing or due to mind / memory disorders like Amnesia or Dementia.
Common Mind disorders in
elderly people are mood disorders, personality related mental illness,
schizophrenia, psychotic disorder, major depressive disorder and bipolar
disorders.
Anxiety disorders -
Anxiety is an unpleasant emotional feeling triggered by anticipation of / fears
for future events with memories of past events or rumination about the self.
Panic disorders – are
sudden attacks with accelerated or irregular heartbeats, shortness of breath,
dizziness, etc. It is often caused with unreasonable intensified fear (i.e.,
with or without specific cause) and anxiety.
Post-traumatic stress disorder - is
a complex disorder in which affected person's memory, emotional responses,
intellectual processes, and nervous system have all been disrupted by one or
more traumatic experiences. It is sometimes summarized as "a normal
reaction to abnormal events."
Delusion – a status of
recurrent / persistent thought(s) / belief(s) which are really a false.
Hallucination is a
false perception occurring without any identifiable external stimulus and
indicates an abnormality in perception in the form of voices, smells, tastes,
vision and touch sensations.
Delirium – a status of disorientation
accompanied by cognitive impairment and fluctuating consciousness.
Hypochondrias – is
medically meant for excessive fear of having a serious disease. These fears are
not relieved even after medical examination / lab reports reveal no evidence of
any disease or abnormal values.
Depression - unipolar
depression are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent
feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that were
once pleasurable. Bipolar disorder (manic depression) involves abnormally
"high" or pressured mood states, known as mania or hypomania,
alternating with normal or depressed mood.
Memory related disorders
·
Amnesia – is
meant for partial or total loss of memory. Forgetfulness is medically termed as
Amnesia (i.e. loss of memory). It may be also because of inattentiveness or
lack of interest or due to brain dysfunctions also.
·
Dementia – medically
means declining memory. It may be rapid or have slow progression. Sufferers of
dementia often miss their keys, umbrellas during start-up of the disease and
later with progression of disease, they may get disoriented with way, place and
can forget well-known persons, etc.
·
Alzheimer's
disease
– is a progressive and degenerative disease of brain cells to cause
forgetfulness. It can be called as mind destructive disorder since it slowly
destroys one’s intelligence, skill, memory, thinking, personality, cleanliness,
etc. Sometimes, they may even not able to recognize their family members or
themselves.
General
treatment
– In old age, one needs love and care than the medicines. I.e., for them,
family care is worth more than medical treatment or
medicines. Further, as there is no treatment for ageing, currently, there is no
specific treatment for memory loss or forgetfulness for elderly people. If they
have more anxiety and depression, antidepressants will be prescribed.
Homeopathic approach
"Cure
rarely, comfort mostly, but console always'' as Hippocrates quotes, every
doctor, irrespective of the system, needs to calm the sufferer’s mind with his
reassuring words, and cure their diseases with their knowledge and medicines.
Generally, in spite of proper care in all aspects i.e., taking healthy diet,
health drinks, supplements like antioxidants, there will be falling memory in
elderly people which is quiet common because of atrophy of brain. Even though
there is no promising cure, Homeopathy can provide some hope to the sufferer
and their family members as most constitutionally selected homeopathic medicine
can rejuvenate brain to remain in endurance without any side-effects.
Homeopathic medicines
commonly used in mind disorders in elderly person are Aconite, Ambra grisea,
Anacardium, Arg nit, Ars alb, Aurum met, Baryta carb, Belladonna, Bryonia,
Caladium, Cal carb, Cannabis indica, Clematis, Conium, Cuprum met, Gelsemium,
Hyoscyamus, Ignatia, Lachesis, Lycopodium, Nat mur, Nux vom, Opium, Pulsatilla,
Phosphorus, Sepia, Silicea, Staphysagria, Stramonium, Sulphur, Zinc met, etc.
Bach’s flower remedies like Aspen, Chestnut bud, Mimulus, Red chestnut,
Scleranthus, Thuja, Vervain, White chestnut, etc., can also provide amazing
results. These medicines can facilitate one’s mind in a better way to cope with
the situation. These medicines should be taken under the advice and diagnosis
of a qualified Homoeopath.
for new hope
Dr. S. Chidambaranathan, BHMS, MD (Homeo)
Laxmi Homeo Clinic
24 E. New Mahalipatti Road
Madurai, TN 625 001
India
Tel: +91-452-233-8833 | +91-984-319-1011 (Mob)
Fax: +91-452-233-0196
E-mail: drcheena@yahoo.com
(Disclaimer - The contents of this column are for informational purpose only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional healthcare advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of healthcare professional for any health problem or medical condition.)
• We aim for Comfort First and Cure Next
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• As we had handled all sorts of cases in and abroad, we can guide you to choose effective treatment.
• Further, if required to control the disease at the earliest and to be in safer side and in Incurable diseases, to improve quality of life, we can also advice you to integrate Homeopathy with Allopathy
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