she Alzheimer’s It is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. the symptom This disease usually develops slowly and worsens over the years. It is, without a doubt, an extremely difficult disease, which causes a lot of pain to the patient himself – if the disease is not advanced – and, especially, to everyone around him.
The doctor Alfonso Vidal Marcos, Coordinator of Anesthesiology and Resuscitation and the Pain Unit at Quirónsalud Sur Hospitalnot shed light on what it is the pain How people with Alzheimer’s and those who accompany them in the process feel.
“We know that It is a disease caused by cognitive impairment due to the gathering of a kind of brain wastewhich leads to a change not only in the memory, but in the full recognition of a large part of the experience of these patients, who at first are like small children, with the very basic responses and stereotyped behavior when faced with problems, then they become uncontrolled and lose their ability to orient themselves and, finally, they lose self-awareness ,” he explained.
Alzheimer’s, this specialist emphasizes, “It attacks the very center of man, his own self-awareness, and makes pain a mere sensory experience, such as cold, light or the smell of flowers. Unlike other perspectives, pain requires an intellectual, emotional and social explanation. In general, a step through the sieve of consciousness”Add.
“What is unconscious pain? A simple one nociception. That is the big difference between humans and other animals, the mental explanation of cause, effect, perceptions, etc. derived from nociception and complex behavior and not subject to reflex or instinctive automatisms,” he clarified.
So, does consciousness itself give the condition of humans and those who do not have it are not humans? Dr. Vidal Marcos believes that this “a question full of ethical thorns“. “Perhaps, the human condition depends on an individual conscience, but also on a collective, social conscience. We are people because other people recognize us as such and we attribute to ourselves all the benefits and responsibilities of such status,” he said.
“Sometimes I ponder out loud where the human analogy is. When a person has an arm amputated, the result is that the person adds the amputated part of the body. The same thing happens when we repeat the operation, or when we remove the spleen, or the kidney, the liver, the lung or even the frontal lobe of the brain. If a person loses the capacity of the brain and there is no electroencephalographic response, we talk about the person in the past, understanding that the organs are human and they deserve, therefore, respect,” he pointed out.
dr. Alfonso Vidal
Quirónsalud’s expert points out that “death in life due to Alzheimer’s and other dementias They almost always cause more pain to the people who share the patient’s life.those he looked at every day like a stranger, who tried to take care of him when he always rejected them and even the rebels.”The pain of Alzheimer’s is often caused by the inability to understand a disease that erases the identity and history common to loved ones, turning them into a kind of zombies that are very difficult to control.“, he admitted.
For this reason, he considers that these and other diseases require “care that is often almost impossible for spouses, elderly people who have more than tight pensions and little support from the authorities.” “Those with the resources can afford personal attention and a safe, loving environment. Those who do not do so are in despair and pain.” he pointed out.
Finally, he concluded: “Yes, Alzheimer’s causes a lot of pain, pain from spouses, from children, from friends, pain from lack of attention.“.
