Dementia in the Kenntnisprüfung

What distinguishes delirium (Delir) from dementia (Demenz)?

• Delirium: acute onset, fluctuating course, often reversible — dementia: gradual, chronic, progressive
• Delirium: gradual onset over years, stable course — dementia: sudden onset, mostly fully reversible
• Delirium: end stage of dementia with permanent confusion — dementia: early, still reversible preliminary stage
• Delirium: typically occurs during alcohol withdrawal — dementia: any confusion from age 65, no matter how it develops

Explanation: The acute, fluctuating onset is the hallmark of delirium — usually triggered by infection, dehydration (Exsikkose) or medication, and treatable. In an emergency this distinction saves the search for the cause.

What does the validation (Validation) approach mean?

• Gently but consistently reminding the person several times a day of the date, place and situation
• Acknowledging the person’s feelings and experienced reality instead of correcting them
• Confirming the content of every statement and deliberately playing along with false facts so that calm returns
• Regularly testing the mental abilities and so confirming the course of the disease objectively

Explanation: Validation takes the FEELING behind the statement seriously (“You miss your mother very much”) without forcing the facts. Constant correcting only creates hurt and resistance. Actively playing along with false facts is not part of it either.