Alzheimer’s disease is the most widely-noticed form of dementia. Dementia can be described as the loss of memory that occurs due to the gradual decay of cells forming the brain.
What Causes Alzheimer’s disease?
Scientists and medical professionals have still not been able to discover the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. However, it is assumed that the following can be potential causes of the problem.
- Aging
- Heredity
- Any head injuries
- Any cardio problems
Reading the Signs – How & When?
In general, the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease develop gradually over years and might be difficult for one to assess at an early stage.
Early Stage Symptoms
- Recently occurred actions and talks are swiped off the mind.
- Names of places and things are hard to remember.
- Asking the same thing repeatedly.
- Person develops resistance to change in environment and lifestyle.
- Judgement becomes poor and making decisions is hard.
Some symptoms like mood swings, heightened levels of nervousness or excitement and confusion in certain circumstances are also counted amongst the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
Mid Stage Symptoms
- Heightened sense of confusion and bewilderment (An example of this state can be when a person walks off somewhere not knowing in what direction he is going and suddenly realizes that he is lost.)
- Compulsive, monotonous or impulsive actions.
- The person starts believing in instances or events that have never happened.
- Improper sleep.
- Quite frequent mood swings.
- Language and communication become problematic.
- Extreme level of mood changes including the feelings of agitation, anxiety, excitement or frustration.
- Assessing distances becomes tough.
- Poor vision is developed.
At this stage of Alzheimer’s, one cannot expect to live without extended assistance. All activities at this stage including dressing up, bathing, attending Nature’s call, eating, strolling, etc. need to be assisted.
Later Stage Symptoms
This state is the worst as it tends to make a person hallucinate most of the times. A strange sense of fear is felt by the individual who tends to develop suspicion against the people around him. This makes him feel frustrated, angry, demanding and violent.
Few other symptoms that can also develop at this stage include:
- Trouble in swallowing and eating food.
- Movement without any aid becomes very difficult.
- Person tends to lose considerable weight.
- Unintended passage of urine.
- Speech starts suppressing.
- Short-time and long-time memories start fading at a faster rate.
Don’t Skip On the Necessary Actions
If you are really concerned about someone and you feel that the person’s condition is degrading over time, the first thing you should do is to get the person thoroughly examined by a doctor. It’s not always necessary that the cause of problem is dementia. The doctor will go for certain tests before conforming the condition.
Generally, CT scan and MRI scan are prescribed by the doctor. Once the condition is confirmed, all you need to do is provide necessary support that the person needs mentally and physically. On top of this, certain medicines are prescribed for helping the person through this stage. The one most important thing that caregivers need to have is patience. This is important as many persons get this news as a shock and at such time, they need emotional support of friends and family and might often become too angry or violent.
By Aditi Tyagi
Aditi Tyagi, Editor at Tech-Hunt IT Innovation Pvt. Ltd. loves to read and share about healthcare. Aditi recommends interested readers to check out more interesting health tips at AarogyaData.
Photo By – slauz, Ann Gordon
