Alzheimer’s disease is a serious brain disorder that greatly affects the daily life by means of memory loss and cognitive changes. This is the most common form of dementia that affects millions of adults. This is the reason why when an adult reaches the age of 55, he begins to worry about the future. It should be noted that not all memory loss is an indication of the disease. If your family has a history of the said disease and sometimes you seem to be forgetting things, this does not mean that you have the disease.
However, if you feel something different and your forgetfulness worsens, then this is the right time to seek medical help. Seeking medical help as soon as you think you are getting worse is very essential for you have great chance of getting care you needed most. Actually, there is no simple test for any form of dementia including Alzheimer. Usually the medical practitioner needs to exclude certain health conditions such as vitamin deficiency, infections, thyroid problems, side effects of medication and depression.
If you are worried about your dad always forgetting where he put the car keys, or you are dreading old age then, it is right time for you to learn the Alzheimer’s disease early symptoms. Differentiating this from memory loss related to old age can be quiet difficult. It is a fact that when one ages, being forgetful is only a sign of old age however once the memory problem interferes with the daily life, this is no longer sign of old age.
People with dementia may forget recent things that happen; it could also be dates or important events that interfere with the person’s life. We all know that sometimes we certain things or events but later on we remember them, but a person with dementia, forget the entire event or thing. People with this illness will keep on repeating things that he had just said, other times, he will repeat it word for word. He will keep on asking the same questions again and again regardless of how many times you’ve answered.
There are times that we are on the lookout for words when we are talking however, a person with dementia faces more intense problems even by remembering basic words. The way they speak may hard to follow and become twisted. People with this illness are confused and disoriented with the same thing they do and places they go. They have the tendency to get lost even on places that are familiar to them. These people often times have mood swings. The changes in their personality affect their daily life or the household as a whole. Oftentimes, they will become emotional; they will get angry or upset for no reason at all. There are times that they are withdrawn, suspicious to family members but too trusting to strangers.
The most obvious sign of the person with Alzheimer’s is when we all know that he dresses well and particular about his personality now stops taking a bath, won’t change his clothing and is no longer particular on how he looks. They also show signs of doing odd things like putting their shoes in the ref or misplacing the keys every time. These are the most obvious sign that the person is suffering from Alzheimer’s.
Every individual with the illness progresses differently. Your doctor may present to you the three stages of Alzheimer’s disease as guidelines in understanding and coping with the member of our family with the illness. We must understand that each patient’s behavior on the different stages varies. The early or mid stage of Alzheimer’s may last from two to four years, you will notice that he keeps on asking the same questions even if you answered already. The patient shows sign of expressing and understands of the words; shows mild coordination problem like writing and mood swings seems to occur too often.
When the person is on the moderate or mild stage, the problems are evident at this time. The person has persistent memory loss, unable to recognize family members and forget even his personal history. He will have rambling speech, change in behavior and mood, sleep pattern has changes a lot, experience aggression and delusions and often times shows uncalled for behavior which is not unusual for the person to do such things. He starts to slow in his coordination. Usually this stage will last from two to ten years and will require lots of understanding, assistance, reminders on the daily activities.
On the late stage which is also characterized as severe stage, the patient is totally confused about his past and even present. He is unable to recognize people that are familiar to him; he lost his ability to remember and even to communicate. His verbal skills are totally at a loss. Even in swallowing the patient will have difficulty, can no longer care for himself, started to have extreme problems with delirium, behavior hallucinations and hallucinations. This severe stage lasted from one to two years and will need close and round the clock intensive support.
Currently, there is no single factor that can attribute as the main cause of Alzhemier’s but the combination of the different factors such as age, health of the individual, genetic inheritance, lifestyle and environmental factors. This disease will develop slowly and silently through the years before any symptoms will be noticeable.
We have no single medical test that can identify the disease, before a person will be diagnosed as having this problem, it will take time and a lot of patience. One of the most important ways is to assess the past and present behavior and functioning of the patient. This will help the doctor rule out other causes of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s as well as it will help the doctor distinguish the illness from the other forms of dementia.