Dementia is a serio us disease or disorder that, unfortunately, still has no cure. Almost all people that suffer from dementia are elderly people, who usually have a weak nervous system, which contribute to the symptoms of the said disease.
In order to have a better understanding of dementia, there are now dozens of different guidebooks that focus on teaching and providing knowledge to people about the intricacies of dementia and how it should be prevented, slowed down, and treated. To know more, here are details about dementia and the best guidebooks that will tell you more about the disease.
What is Dementia?
Dementia is a disorder that occurs when there is damage to the brain and other parts of the nervous system caused by a more severe disease. The disease that is most likely to cause dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, which starts to slowly degrade or destroy different sections of the nervous system until the patient’s condition worsens progressively. Alzheimer’s is the cause of about 60 to 70 percent of cases of dementia. Stroke is also another known cause of dementia, especially when the stroke causes paralysis in a few areas of the brain.
There are several symptoms of dementia, and these include the interruption of thought patterns, difficulty speaking, and mood swings. These symptoms worsen over time until it develops into a debilitating disease wherein the person affected by it cannot recognize names, places, events, memories, and loved ones.
When dementia worsens, it affects not only the people that have it but also their caregivers and loved ones, as they will most likely hurt those people emotionally due to their actions and movements that they cannot control. As of 2020, dementia is considered the seventh leading cause of death worldwide, and there are about 10 million cases of dementia reported each year. 
While there is currently no known cure for dementia, there are many ways to treat it in order to slow down its symptoms. There are pills or tablets that have acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which are effective in slowing down the cognitive symptoms of dementia, like memorizing and learning.
What are Dementia Guidebooks?
Dementia guidebooks are reading materials that are utilized to gain more knowledge about dementia, particularly its causes, symptoms, and methods of treatment. There are some guidebooks that are thicker than the other in terms of page counts, while there are also a few that are thin but concise in the information they want to provide to their readers.
A lot of dementia guidebooks are written by medical experts that have a vast knowledge of dementia treatment. But there are also guidebooks that are written by medical companies and publishing houses, which basically means that writing the guidebooks is a joint effort between medical experts, technical writers, and publishers.
There are guidebooks that use complicated terms and wordings, but if you are new to the topic of dementia and want the easiest way to gain knowledge about it, you should get guidebooks that are beginner-friendly and are effective in explaining the different aspects of dementia in a simpler manner.
The Best Dementia Guidebooks
There are so many different dementia guidebooks that you can find today, so you will most likely have a hard time finding the best one when you are checking these guidebooks out one by one. So, in order to make it easier for you to find great guidebooks, we will already provide you with a few options. Here are the best dementia guidebooks for you to get.
- Living Your Best With Early-Stage Alzheimer’s: An Essential Guide – this guidebook that was written by Lisa Snyder, MSW, LCSW, contains different tips that will help people with Alzheimer’s deal with the symptoms of the disease. The guidebook contains details on coping with the diagnosis, the activities you can do to slow down the symptoms of the disease, and different things that you can plan for the future.
- Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s: A Groundbreaking Approach for Everyone Dealing with the Disease – written by Robert N. Butler, M.D., this guidebook is written particularly for people that have loved ones that are suffering from dementia or for caregivers that want to learn more about how to deal with the disorder.
- Alzheimer’s Through the Stages: A Caregiver’s Guide – this special guidebook written by Mary Moller, MSW, CAS, is for caregivers that want to know how to care for patients that have Alzheimer’s and dementia. This book provides simple explanations for handling tasks with and for Alzheimer’s patients, like visiting the doctor and dealing with mood swings.
- The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias – the guidebook written by Nancy L. Mace, MA, and Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH, is arguably one of the most popular guidebooks for dementia, as it offers concise and easy-to-understand tips and guides on how to take care of patients and loved ones with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
- Living in the Moments: A Guide to Overcoming Challenges and Finding Moments of Joy in Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias – written by Elizabeth Landsverk, MD, this guidebook is specifically designed to be read by people that are currently experiencing the early stages of Alzheimer’s and dementia and want to find ways to cope with their diagnosis while keeping a positive mindset.
- When Waves Rise: Navigating Difficult Moments Associated with Dementia – this guidebook is written for people that want to know how to deal with different moments that may be difficult for them when they are suffering from dementia. The guidebook is authored by Sarah Viola, OTR/L, and it has a foreword written by Naomi Evans, M.S., CCC-SLP.
- Dementia Home Care: How to Prepare Before, During, and After – this guidebook that was written by Trace Cram Perkins contains tips for caregivers and loved ones on how to deal with the dementia of a person before, during, and after the diagnosis. The book has tips that will help you accomplish certain tasks that can help the patient have a more comfortable and safer time living at home.
- Looking Through the Window at Dementia: The Caregiver’s Handbook to Understanding Dementia – another guidebook for caregivers that gives details and pieces of information about dementia so that they will have a better understanding of the disorder and how it can be treated. This guidebook is written by Laura Banner.
These are the info that you need to know when it comes to dementia and the guidebooks you can buy to learn more about the disorder and how to treat it. Check the reviews for the guidebooks we have provided above so that you will know which ones truly have the best collection of details and information for dementia that you need.
 World Health Organization Newsroom. (2022, September 2022). Dementia. World Health Organization. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia