Senile psychosis is a collective term for a group of mental disorders that occur in people over 60 years of age. It is accompanied by confusion and states of the type of schizophrenia, as well as manic-depressive psychosis. The books say that senile psychosis and senile dementia are one and the same. But this assumption is wrong. Senile psychosis provokes dementia, but it will not be complete. In addition, the main symptoms of the disease resemble a psychotic disorder. Although sanity often remains normal.
Causes of occurrence
The main reason why senile psychosis appears is the gradual destruction of brain cells. But the reason does not lie only in old age, since not everyone has it. Sometimes genetics are involved. It was noted that if there were cases of a similar disease in the family, then it is quite possible that you will also have it.
Senile psychosis has 2 forms. The first is acute, the second is chronic. What are they characterized by? acute formaccompanied by clouding of the mind, and chronic - paranoid, depressive, hallucinatory and paraphrenic psychoses. No matter how old you are, treatment is mandatory for everyone.
Causes of senile psychosis
Let's consider them in more detail than mentioned above. So, the causes that cause diseases of old age are as follows:
- Diseases of the respiratory system.
- Inadequate intake of vitamins.
- Heart failure.
- Diseases of the urogenital area.
- Surgical interventions.
- Sleep problems.
- Inactivity.
- Unbalanced diet.
- Visual or hearing problems.
Now consider what constitutes senile dementia (symptoms, treatment). How long do people live with this disease? We will answer this question in more detail below.
Common symptoms of senile psychosis
- Slow disease progression.
- Impaired memory ability.
- Distorted perception of reality.
- Sharp change of character.
- Sleep problems.
- Anxiety.
Symptoms of acute forms of psychosis
- Unconcentrated attention and difficulty orienting in space.
- Difficulties with self-care.
- Fatigue.
- Sleep disturbed, anxiety state.
- Lack of appetite.
- Feeling helpless, confused and afraid.
The patient's condition is accompanied by delirium andconstant expectation of trouble. All psychoses can proceed continuously or have periods of enlightenment. The duration of the disease is approximately 4 weeks, this was written above.
Chronic symptoms
- Depression.
- Feel useless.
- Mild depression.
- Self-blame.
In different cases, the symptoms may be combined in different ways. Because of this, it is very difficult to recognize this pathology.
Acute forms of senile psychosis
They occur against the background of somatic diseases, for which they are called bodily. Anything can cause a disorder, from a lack of vitamins and trace elements to problems with hearing and visual apparatus.
Because the he alth of the elderly is undermined, they often try not to go to the hospital, the disease is diagnosed belatedly. And this turns into problems in the treatment of dementia. All of the above once again shows how important it is to timely diagnose the diseases of old people and treat them. After all, otherwise their mental state may be irreparably harmed.
The acute form develops suddenly, but sometimes it is preceded by a prodrome from 1 to 3 days.
At this time, a person has a feeling of weakness and problems with maintaining personal hygiene, there is confusion, hallucinations. This is followed by an attack of acute psychosis.
During the latter, a person has chaotic movements and anxiety, thinkingconfused. Delusions and thoughts appear that they want to take his life, take away his property, etc. Sometimes there are hallucinations and delusions, but they are few and they are permanent. In some cases, when senile psychosis occurs, the symptoms of existing diseases of the body become aggravated.
Psychosis lasts about 3-4 weeks. Its course is either continuous or with remissions. Treated only in the hospital.
Chronic forms of senile psychosis
What is chronic psychosis? We will now analyze the symptoms and signs of the disease. Depression is one of the first symptoms of the disease.
Found mostly in women. If the degree of the disease is mild, then there are: weakness, lack of desire to do something, a feeling of meaninglessness, uselessness. If the patient's condition is severe, then there is anxiety, deep depression, delusions of self-flagellation, agitation. The duration of the disease is 13-18 years. Memory is almost saved.
Paranoid states
Relate this pathology to the disease of old age. Its peculiarity is in constant delirium, which pours out on its own relatives or neighbors. A sick person claims that they do not allow him to live in peace in his own apartment, they want to kick him out of it, kill, poison, etc. He believes that things are taken away from him.
If a person has a separate room, he locks himself there and does not let anyone in. But, fortunately, with this variety, a person can independently care foryourself. In a paranoid state, socialization is preserved, since the disease develops for a long time.
Hallucinoses
Hallucinosis is also a psychosis. Its symptoms and signs vary depending on the type: verbal, tactile and visual.
With verbal hallucinosis, a person develops verbal delusions: intimidation, sacrilege, obscene language, etc. During an attack, a person loses control over himself, confusion and chaotic movements appear. At other times, hallucinations are evaluated critically by the patient himself. The age at which the disease occurs is mainly 71 years. This disease is classified as "psychosis of late age".
With visual hallucinosis, a person has hallucinations. At first there are few of them, and they are flat, gray in color. After a few minutes, the visions become larger, they acquire color and volume. Characters of hallucinations are mostly unusual living beings, animals, less often people. The person himself is aware of his painful condition and tries not to succumb to hallucinations. Although sometimes there are situations when the images seem so realistic that the patient still follows their lead and does what he sees in them - he can talk with their heroes. Mostly people over 81 get sick.
With tactile hallucinosis, there are complaints of burning and itching on the skin, as well as sensations as if from bites. The patient thinks that ticks and bugs are crawling on his skin, or he feels sand on his body or stones. Visual images are often added to sensations:he sees ants crawling on himself, etc. A sick person wants to remove discomfort with all his might: he rinses his hands all the time, consults a skin doctor, etc. These hallucinations are observed between the ages of 49 and 66.
Hallucinatory-paranoid states
This psychosis combines hallucinatory syndrome and paranoid. The disease appears at the age of 60, lasts about 16 years. Clinical manifestations proceed according to the type of schizophrenia: a person hears voices, sees images, performs incomprehensible actions. Memory is preserved in the initial period of the disease. Violations become noticeable in the later stages.
Confabulations
Typical disorders of the elderly, so to speak, features of old age. In this case, the patient shows a complete restructuring of the personality, and real and fictional events are confused. The person believes that he knows the president and is friends with some celebrity. This creates megalomania.
Pathology develops at the age of 71 years. Memory is not broken immediately.
Naturally, the destruction of the psyche is considered an inevitable process in old age, and yet it causes great suffering both to the person himself and to his relatives. But no matter how difficult it is, we must try to fill the remaining years of the life of sick people with warmth and love.
How is senile psychosis treated
Senile psychosis is a serious disease, and it is up to the doctor to decide whether the patient should be placed in a hospital. Of course, the consent of the relatives is required. Before starting treatment,the doctor carefully examines the patient in order to identify his general condition, determine the type of psychosis and severity, the presence of somatic diseases.
If a person has a depressive disorder, then psychotropic drugs such as Pyrazidol are prescribed, etc. Sometimes several drugs are combined in certain dosages. For other types of psychosis, drugs like Propazine, Sonapax, etc. are needed. For any variant of psychosis, corrective agents are prescribed, for example, Cyclodol.
Treatment is always chosen with an individual approach. Along the way, somatic disorders are being corrected.
Treatment can be carried out both in specialized psychiatric clinics and in ordinary hospitals, because psychosis can occur against the background of certain diseases.
The most favorable prognosis is given in acute variants of psychoses. And what are the chances of recovery in a chronic course? Unfortunately, the prognosis is poor. All drugs only slow down the course of the pathology for a while. Therefore, relatives need to be patient, calm and loyal. After all, dementia is an integral stage in the life of every person.
What is the life expectancy of people with senile psychosis, no one can say for sure. But on average, doctors give such patients from 6 to 11 years, depending on the state of the human body.
Conclusion
Well, here we have figured out what senile dementia is. Symptoms, treatment (how long people with this condition live, we also indicated) depend on the typepathology and the presence of concomitant somatic diseases. Now the reader can reasonably assess what to expect from such a disease.
