Educate Yourself During World Alzheimer’s Month

As September comes to a close, we want to remind children to pay close attention to their elderly parents who seem to be displaying signs of forgetfulness and confusion. An important chance to learn more about Alzheimer’s and dementia, World Alzheimer’s Month has provided us with a wealth of knowledge. Caring for a family member with dementia can be extraordinarily stressful, but learning more about the disease and its symptoms can help.

The collective name that encompasses a variety of degenerative brain syndromes, dementia affects the memory, thinking, behavior and emotional processes of an individual. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, which makes up about 90 percent of cases worldwide. There are 10 signs to look for in early Alzheimer’s. If your loved one seems to be suffering from any of these symptoms, contact their primary physician for a diagnosis.

Memory Loss

While all of us experience some memory loss as we age, certain levels of this can be attributed to the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease. It is completely normal for your parent or loved one to forget about an appointment, but if it is happening continually and they are not remembering it later, this may be a sign of trouble. The forgetting of learned information and an increased need for memory aids can be cause for concern.

Problem Solving

Trouble paying bills and following familiar recipes and instructions should be noted as well. The occasional error is just human nature, but continued problems with tasks that used to come easily may have an underlying cause. People suffering from Alzheimer’s often have trouble completing daily tasks that they used to do on their own all the time.

Confusion

Losing track of time is a common concern amongst patients with Alzheimer’s. Your loved one may begin to forget where they are or how they got there. It is common to forget what day of the week it is for a little while, but further confusion is a sign of dementia.

Withdrawal

Withdrawing from social activities and those they are close to is a common sign of Alzheimer’s. Changes in mood, because of confusion and anxiety related to their disease may cause this, along with all of the other difficult changes your loved one is experiencing.

It is important to remember how stressful and frightening dementia is for the individual suffering from it. Talk to the doctor and come up with a plan that can ease the everyday burdens in your loved one’s life. Want to learn more about important discussions to have with your doctor? Give us a call at 302-478-7081 to speak with one of the devoted caregivers at Your Own Home Senior Care.