Living with Alzheimer's disease - an ordeal for everyone. It is difficult to make decisions, remember the information and find ways to solve the problems of the concept on which the person did not have before. Most of the time is spent in the struggle for a normal life, but, as elsewhere, this has a black and white stripes. We hope that the tips that follow will help to cope with the situation and once again feel the taste of life.

How to cope with memory problems

This can help the following tips:

• Always carry a notebook where you can record all the important information for telephone numbers, names, idea, date and time appointments, home address and how to get to the residence.
• Houses, in prominent places, you can paste stickers with reminders about what to do.
• On cupboards and drawers to stick labels or pictures, displaying their contents.
• Ask someone from relatives or friends to call from time to time and remind you that you need to do during the day, such as food, medication time, for important meetings.
• Create your own calendar, so as not to get lost in time and remember important dates.
• It is useful to have a home photos of people with whom often meet with signed names on them.
• Listen to messages on the answering machine, it can also be a good way of reminder.

How best to organize the daily routine?

• Whenever possible, try to do more so that like, and what to be able to cope without the help of outsiders
• Listen to your well-being, to try to do everyday chores, when you feel good.
• Do not hurry, do not let other people to rush yourself to solve problems as they arrive.
• If something difficulties arise - take a break, relax.
• Do not hesitate to seek help if they need it.

How not to get lost in the city?

A few simple guidelines:

• Ask someone to accompany you, if you need somewhere to go.
• If you lose, do not hesitate to ask someone to help and explain the reason for your difficulties - problems with memory.
• Try to choose the familiar routes

That will help in dealing with other people?

• Do not rush: Do not think that all you need to do as quickly as possible.
• In conversation, if there is such a need, do not hesitate to ask to repeat themselves or to speak more slowly if you do not understand.
• Avoid noisy bustling places, choose to talk quiet peaceful place.

What about driving a car?

For people with Alzheimer's driving presents certain difficulties.

• If you need to go somewhere, ask someone to sit behind the wheel
• If you are scattered, and easy to get lost, use alternative means of transport.
• Basically, try to move to the areas that you are familiar with.
• If you have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, it is better to be tested driving skills and ability to navigate the terrain. In certain cases, driving in this state is very unsafe.

How to cope with the housework?

The special organizations that deal with people with Alzheimer's or your doctor, you can get the necessary information about how you better organize your life, shopping, cooking (home delivery of finished food), what type of transport is better to use.

• If you trust someone from the neighbors, ask them to keep in their set of keys to your home.
• Ask someone from the family to monitor the appliances, mail and perishable products.
• At hand should always be a list of important phone numbers, such as emergency numbers.
• For single people with Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease - can be slowed down, it can not be cured It is very important that someone from friends, relatives or representatives of social services called or came to them to make sure everything was in order.

How to cope with their responsibilities?

We recommend to arrange a direct transfer of funds, for example, your pension or other benefits in your bank account. Employees of the bank's better to tell that you find it difficult to carry out operations related to money, maybe they have a special service that provides services to people with similar problems.

It is important to understand that sooner or later there will come a time when you will not do without someone's help. However, in the early stages of the disease, many people manage themselves or with the help of relatives and friends, with special programs or support, or simple devices in the home, which makes life easier for the patient and ensure his safety.

Infectious meningitis may be bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic origin. All of these have meningitis, both general combining their symptoms, and the symptoms unique to any particular type of meningitis. Sometimes to distinguish one type of meningitis from another only after laboratory testing of cerebrospinal fluid.

How is infectious meningitis

Infectious meningitis may be caused by very different infections: bacterial, viral, fungal, protozoan, various parasites. However, they are divided into two large groups of serous (aseptic predominantly viral) and purulent (mostly bacterial).

Pathogens that cause infectious meningitis can be transmitted in different ways. For example, bacterial meningitis infections, and meningitis caused by enterovirus infection is transmitted mainly by airborne droplets and through the hands and objects contaminated with saliva (bacterial) or faeces (enteroviruses).

Very often, bacterial meningitis are secondary, that is, the infection enters the cranial cavity through the bloodstream from the main focus of inflammation. Tuberculous meningitis is almost always secondary.

Some types of meningitis can be infected by inhaling dust from contaminated feces of animals, such as house mice (acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis benign) or birds (fungal cryptococcal meningitis).

The incubation period of an infectious meningitis

Incubation (the time from ingestion of infection to onset of symptoms) during infectious meningitis also can be different. For example, in the most common form of bacterial meningitis Bacterial meningitis - the reasons for the spread of infection   - Meningococcal he is an average of 6-7 days, but can be set to 12 hours and three weeks.

The incubation period is also common enteroviral meningitis Enterovirus meningitis - the most common type   is 2-12 days. The incubation period for mumps meningitis ranges from 11 to 23 days (average 18-20 days), but sometimes it can take up to 35 days.

Symptoms

Symptoms of infectious meningitis can be different depending on the type of pathogen infection. However, virtually all types of meningitis in varying degrees of severity present symptoms such as headache, nausea, vomiting, and a general increase in sensitivity to touch, light and sound typical meningeal posture, meningeal symptoms.

Headache is often diffuse nature of the (whole head hurts), but sometimes it can be located in the frontal and occipital areas. Headache occurs due to irritation of sensitive nerve endings in the brain membranes.

Along with the headache appears vomiting caused by irritation of the vagus nerve receptors. Most nausea before vomiting, but it may not be. A feature of vomiting with meningitis is that it does not bring relief, and is not connected with food intake. Vomiting can be both single and repeated during the day.

Increased sensitivity of meningitis may be the skin (associated with touch), visual and auditory.

For the patient with meningitis is characterized by a special position: the head thrown back, arms bent and pressed against his chest, legs bent, knees to the stomach are given. Meningeal pose and all other meningeal symptoms develop because of the tonic contraction of muscle.

Infectious meningitis Meningitis - an inflammation of the meninges   occurs in children with the same symptoms, but can have a meningeal symptoms in children (especially in young) erased unspoken character. Very often they prevail cerebral symptoms of disorders of consciousness and seizures. In infants, signs of meningitis Symptoms of meningitis - cerebral symptoms   may be bulging and pulsing of a large fontanelle.

Diagnosis and treatment

In the diagnosis of infectious meningitis is of particular importance the study of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), taken by a puncture of the spinal cord. The CSF in purulent meningitis infection is detected neutrophilic pleocytosis, while serous - lymphocytic pleocytosis. Pleocytosis - is to increase the content of cells in the cerebrospinal fluid. Normally this rate should not exceed 5 cells in 1 mm, meningitis when he reaches several hundreds or even thousands of cells, mainly white blood cells. Thus in purulent meningitis predominant one type of leukocytes (neutrophils), and at the other nonsuppurative (lymphocytes).

The blood of a patient with meningitis can detect signs of inflammation - a lot of white blood cells (leukocytosis) and accelerated ESR

Treatment of any type of meningitis is carried out only in a hospital. First aid seriously ill with meningitis, accompanied by high intracranial pressure, is also a lumbar puncture - removal of a small amount of liquor brings them relief.

Galina Romanenko