Question: my great Grandma has dementia. How do you get it? And How else can it affect you?

Nadine Mirza answered on 14 Nov 2018:

Very good question Minor. It’s good that you are seeking out information.
So dementia, which is damage to brain cells, can happen in many ways.
Sometimes it is the shrinking of certain parts of the brain, sometimes it’s because not enough blood is reaching your brain, sometimes it’s because your brain cells are breaking down or it can be because plaques are developing in your brain that stop the brain cells from communicating.
All of this can happen due to a bunch of reasons. Sometimes it’s genetic- you are more likely to develop dementia if your parent or grandparent has it because they pass the gene down to you. This gene isn’t a guarantee you’ll get it though, just increases the chances.
However, even without the gene there can be other reasons.
Things that are bad for the body inevitably end up being bad for the brain- so bad diets, lack of exercise, bad habits like excessive drinking, smoking and drug use, passive activity that doesn’t really force the brain to work like watching lots of endless TV, and not socialising with people, can all lead to dementia. Diseases that effect the heart and impacts how it distributes blood (like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems) contribute to the not letting blood reach the brain part of dementia.
Because dementia is an attack on the brain and the brain has so many different parts responsible for so many different things how dementia affects you depends on where dementia has targeted your brain.
It could be in the form of memory loss- short term, long term or both, or it could cause havoc with your emotions. It can affect your ability to speak, to read, or to write, controlling your body, following rules, controlling inhibitions, managing your behaviour. It can cause hallucinations or delusions, parnaoia, depression, anxiety. It can impact how you process sensory information.
When it is very severe it can make it impossible to walk, take away the ability to chew, to move and eventually to breathe.
All of this again, depends on which kind of dementia you have and where the brain has been attacked. Some people with dementia might have a lot of damage in one area (such as controlling their inhibitions) but may function perfectly normally in other areas. Some can’t read or write anymore because of their dementia but can perfectly and fluently speak and are fine otherwise. It can be very unique from person to person.