It is a basic human right to be loved and nurtured. However, owing to rampant superstition and quackery in the rural areas of Punjab, hundreds of elderly persons afflicted with the Alzheimer’s disease, most of them suffering from acute dementia, are confined to a room in their houses.
Alzheimer’s is a disease that results in impaired memory and reasoning. While the disease can also occur in younger people in their thirties, the risk grows considerably after 65, says Dr KS Kajal, former principal, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College. Owing to ignorance about the disease, instead of taking patients to a doctor, most families turn to sorcerers. And, in the last stage when the patient loses control over his bowel movements, is confined to a room.
