Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease and Family
Early detection of Alzheimer’s can alleviate stress that one may experience as a caregiver during the diseases’ progression. Therefore, alertness and knowledge of Alzheimer’s can make it easier for you and your loved ones to cope and take action against the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
Educating yourself and your loved ones on what Alzheimer’s is and how it can affect the person you care for on a daily basis is important. Alzheimer’s is a disease that progresses gradually over time and causes a decline in reasoning skills, thinking and memory.
Be sure to sit down with a loved one that you may be caring for and take note if you or anyone else may have noticed some of the following symptoms or signs of Alzheimer’s.
MEMORY LOSS
Memory loss from Alzheimer’s can disrupt your loved one’s day to day lifestyle in many ways that they may not notice. Things such as forgetting appointments and important dates, asking similar or the same questions over and over again, as well as relying on family or other people for things they usually take care of and manage themselves.
TIME AND PLACE MIX-UPS
A common symptom of Alzheimer’s is confusion with times and places. People that suffer from Alzheimer’s can often lose track of the passage of time, forget days of the week, mix up seasons, and times of day.
SPEAKING HICCUPS
Alzheimer’s can cause a person to have trouble in social situations; it may often be difficult for people dealing with Alzheimer’s to join or even follow conversations. However, if in a conversation, the illness can make a person repeat themselves or even forget what they are trying to say.
MISPLACING ITEMS
Alzheimer's disease can cause a person to misplace items by putting them or even hiding them in strange and unusual places. They may lose the ability to retrace their steps and recover what they have lost. This may even cause them to accuse their loved ones of stealing.
It is important for you to continue your education on this disease. The more you and your loved ones know about the disease the easier it will be for everyone to cope when dealing with the symptoms and behaviors of Alzheimer’s when they occur.
