Do you have plans for the future? Perhaps your plans include a stable future for your family, especially education for your kids. On the other hand, have you asked yourself what your plans are when you get old? Are you prepared for any unexpected health changes brought about by the aging process as well as any other health condition that you may inherit from your family? Where do you see yourself when you grow so old that you cannot remember the names of the people talking to you?
According to George Tadros, consultant psychiatrist at Heartlands Hospital, 66.6 percent of the patients in Heartlands are elderly. Half of these patients are manifesting dementia-related symptoms and health problems. As such, they consume the majority of the hospital’s resources. This is seconded by Peter Wallis, Heartlands’ clinical director for elderly care. “The patients do not show the beginning symptoms of dementia as expected. The symptoms are not always overt,” he added.
This is the reason that as early as middle age, you should plan your retirement, which should include a package for elderly care at a reputable pimlico care agency or avail yourself of Bluebird Care at Home when the time comes. Saving up for the future does not involve saving for your kids, it is also saving for the time that you cannot work anymore.
Though the government has allocated for funding care for the elderly like integrated home care and social services, it would be mind-comforting to have your own savings to rely on. It may be necessary to look into your family history for any familial disease that you or any other member of the family may inherit or likely to have as you reach old age. As such, proper allocation of funds while you are still working may be accomplished.
Another cause of concern that young people should be aware of is the recent findings of scientists regarding dementia. Apathy, which is basically, losing interest in activities that the individual enjoys doing may be a sign of brain disease. The presence of this symptom, according to Dr. Leonore Launer of the National Health Institutes in Maryland, may be an indication of an underlying problem. Most of the participants in the study have an average age of 76 and were subjected to questions identifying the feelings of apathy. A total of 4,354 people without dementia participated in this study and underwent MRI. Significant changes in the grey and white matter of the brain were noted from those participants who manifested symptoms of apathy. This means that apathy alone may indicate an underlying brain disease, in progress, that is.
As scientists and researchers are discovering ways of identifying the early symptoms of dementia, young individuals should also be aware of this possibility, especially with familial history of Alzheimer’s disease. This will help individuals map their own plans in terms of home health care or other affiliated health care agency should the need arise. It is also an opportunity for government stakeholders to prepare home health care careers that are efficiently integrated with the knowledge and skills to aptly address the needs of the future aging population.
