"When you drink alcohol, you don’t digest alcohol. It passes quickly into your bloodstream and travels to every part of your body. Alcohol affects your brain first, then your kidneys, lungs and liver. The effect on your body depends on your age, gender, weight and the type of alcohol."
Okay, so if the patient has dementia and alcohol affects the brain first, you could expect cognition to decrease right away.
Then, if the person has issues with kidneys, lungs and liver and slugs down some booze and that increases stress to those organs, is the buzz worth it?
I know someone who drinks a lot and will probably kill herself with alcohol. Friends have seen signs of dementia for years. She literally cannot think at all in the evening when she's drinking, which is every evening, and the next day, she recalls nothing that happened, where she's been or what she said. Her feet are swollen (I assume kidneys not working well), skin under her eyes too. Age 78, been drinking since 16. Refuses help. Thinks alcohol is helping her. She fired her doctor because he said otherwise.
Alcohol seems too risky to me because it affects so many systems. I'm watching that sort of suffering play out in front of me. I do get that with dementia, we might not want to prolong life. But shortening life with alcohol might not be the most comfortable way to do it. And thinking alcohol could prolong life, well, prove it. I've seen otherwise.
I would not worry if an elder wishes to have a glass of wine, myself, UNLESS any intake of alcohol tends to make him/her less steady. Elders tend to suffer a lot from balance impairment due to changes in the brain.
The studies as to whether a tad of alcohol is good for you change weekly. Goes from yes, a bit is good to no, it is awful and no one needs it.
I would say enough is taken from us that if an elder wishes to have a glass of wine it isn't anyone's business. Same goes for a bag of Trader Joe's Original Potato Chips. As Dr Dean Edell used to say "What are you looking for, another few months in the nursing home?"
There's no sense in trying to prolong a life riddled with dementia ANYWAY. So why not allow the elder to eat and drink whatever they'd like, w/o getting drunk? Many of us give them pot edibles and cbd and then worry about a glass or two of wine??? C'mon! 😂🤣
Everything in moderation. And as long as there's no interaction with meds. And the person isn't a fall risk. My Italian-American ancients (Aunt 104, Mom 94) still drink wine or beer with their meals. My Mom will sometimes make herself a Manhattan or gin martini pre-dinner cocktail, but then I discourage her from having any more booze after that. It makes her sleepy and she hates that.
My MIL's facility serves the residents and families Sparkling wine when they have "event" dinners.
I would worry it could make them dizzy. and a fall risk. I would also worry about it being dehydrated, because a lot of dementia patients don't drink enough water anyways. Also depends on how they tolerate it, and men tolerate alcohol better than women.
I would also worry about it increasing, sundowning, or anger
I believe in letting people enjoy and eat what they want, but I'm just anti alcohol anyways. So personally I probably wouldn't, or maybe just a few oz of wine or a half a beer as a treat . Otherwise I would not
I think that a lot of the advice given relates as much to personal bias than to any scientific studies; some people can handle alcohol and some can't, some people are on medications that shouldn't be mixed with alcohol but that may just mean they shouldn't be washed down with a beer/wine/whisky... life is variable like that.
I haven’t read the studies, just opinion—nothing improves dementia for any substantial time or degree and if my loved one with dementia enjoyed wine, they’d be having it
"When you drink alcohol, you don’t digest alcohol. It passes quickly into your bloodstream and travels to every part of your body. Alcohol affects your brain first, then your kidneys, lungs and liver. The effect on your body depends on your age, gender, weight and the type of alcohol."
Okay, so if the patient has dementia and alcohol affects the brain first, you could expect cognition to decrease right away.
Then, if the person has issues with kidneys, lungs and liver and slugs down some booze and that increases stress to those organs, is the buzz worth it?
I know someone who drinks a lot and will probably kill herself with alcohol. Friends have seen signs of dementia for years. She literally cannot think at all in the evening when she's drinking, which is every evening, and the next day, she recalls nothing that happened, where she's been or what she said. Her feet are swollen (I assume kidneys not working well), skin under her eyes too. Age 78, been drinking since 16. Refuses help. Thinks alcohol is helping her. She fired her doctor because he said otherwise.
Alcohol seems too risky to me because it affects so many systems. I'm watching that sort of suffering play out in front of me. I do get that with dementia, we might not want to prolong life. But shortening life with alcohol might not be the most comfortable way to do it. And thinking alcohol could prolong life, well, prove it. I've seen otherwise.
The studies as to whether a tad of alcohol is good for you change weekly. Goes from yes, a bit is good to no, it is awful and no one needs it.
I would say enough is taken from us that if an elder wishes to have a glass of wine it isn't anyone's business. Same goes for a bag of Trader Joe's Original Potato Chips. As Dr Dean Edell used to say "What are you looking for, another few months in the nursing home?"
My MIL's facility serves the residents and families Sparkling wine when they have
"event" dinners.
I would also worry about it increasing, sundowning, or anger
I believe in letting people enjoy and eat what they want, but I'm just anti alcohol anyways. So personally I probably wouldn't, or maybe just a few oz of wine or a half a beer as a treat . Otherwise I would not