herearemorethan 44 millionpeople
worldwidelivingwithsomesortof
dementia,includingAlzheimer’s.Areyou
worriedaboutyourmemoryora loved
one’smemory?About5 percentof
peoplewithdementiadevelopsymptoms
beforetheyturn65.
Memoryproblemsareknowntobecommon
asweage,butthatdoesn’tmakethemless
heartbreaking.Lookfortheseearlysignsof
dementiaandAlzheimer’sDisease.FORGETTINGRELEVANTAND
RECENTEVENTS
It’sprobablythemostcommonsignsof
Alzheimer’sdisease,especiallyearlyon.The
personwillstartforgettingsomethingthatjust
happened.Thepersonmaystarttoforgetthings
likerelevantdates,events,anddailytasks.CHANGESTOPERSONALITY
ANDMOOD
It’scommonasweagetogetveryspecific
inthewayswewanttodothingsandtoget
irritablewhenthatroutineis interrupted.
However,thosewithAlzheimer’scanstart
tochangetheirmoodandpersonalities.The
personstartstobecomedepressed,fearful,
anxious,suspicious,andconfused.+Plus^ HEALTH
t
HERE ARE SEVEN EARLY SIGNS OF DEMENTIA OR
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE.
MEMORY LANE
POORCHOICES AND
DECISIONS
It’s not uncommon for people to make bad
decisions every once and a while, especially as
theyage.SomepeoplewithAlzheimer’sorother
formsofdementiawillstartmakingbadchoices
withthingslikemoney.Othersstartmakingbad
choiceswithhygieneandstopgroomingand
keepingclean.LOSINGTRACKOFTIME
Inadditiontoforgettingthingsthatjust
happened,thepersonmaystarttoforgetwhere
heis andhowhegotthere.It’snotuncommon
toforgetwhatdayoftheweekit is sometimes,
buttypically,someonewithoutdementiacan
figureit outquickly.UNABLETOSOLVEPROBLEMS
It’snormalforsomeonetoneedhelpfromtime
totimeonsimpleproblemslikerecordinga
show.Someonewithdementiacanstartto
findit hardtosolvedailytaskslikedrivingto
a knownlocation,rememberingrules,keeping
trackofmonthlybills,andmanagingtypical
tasksatwork.WITHDRAWINGSOCIALLY
It’snotuncommontosometimesfeelwearyof social obligations or work. Someone with
dementia may start avoiding social situations
and failing to finish work assignments.
She may start removing herself from hobbies or
otheractivitiessheusedtoenjoy.STRUGGLINGTO HOLD A
CONVERSATION
Sometimes people struggle to find the right
word when holding a conversation, but someone
with dementia has a hard time following or
joining a conversation.
This person tends to repeat the same stories or
start calling people by the wrong name.
Is This Just Mild Cognitive Impairment?
If you notice a notable decline in just one area
like memory or thinking skills, this could just be
the onset of aging and not dementia.
Mild cognitive impairment should not
prevent a person from being socially active and
completing everyday tasks.
Some people’s memory loss does not
progress, so they do not get a wide range of
dementia symptoms.
As always a doctor is the best person to ask
for help and it’s important to note any changes
to your memory and watch for any progression.
at the forefront of national health agendas. +88 Blue Mountainslife