As indicated by specialists the greatest stress for individuals reaching the age of 55 and over is Alzheimer’s disease, causing more distress and fear than any other condition known to us.
Noticing the first signs of the disease can be a devastating discovery, for both you and your closest family but don’t immediately fall in despair. The fact that you’ve forgotten where you put your keys or you didn’t buy milk from the supermarket isn’t a tell-tale sign of Alzheimer’s. Even if this is the case, the sooner you’re diagnosed and seek help the better your chances of having a good-quality life and minimize the symptoms.
Once the Alzheimer’s sets in, its symptoms develop very slowly and gradually get worse as time passes by. What starts as a common forgetfulness later grows into widespread brain impairment. The brain gets slowly degraded by the chemical and structural changes and patients soon lose the ability to create, remember, learn, reason, and relate to others.
Most Common Risk Factors:
The highest risk factors that influence the onset of this disease are age, family history, and genetics. Still, there are other risk factors that also contribute, meaning that even if you’re in the high-risk group there’s a lot you can do to protect yourself.
The first symptoms of the disease are generally mild but as the disease progresses they start to interfere with your everyday life. There are some common symptoms but you need to know that in every person the disease can manifest differently.
– feeling fatigued and lacking energy
– Memory loss
– Sudden mood swings
– Feeling angry and frustrated all the time
– Slow reactions to new situations
– Difficulties learning new things very hard
– Inability to understand some things
– Wanting to be alone
– Difficulties in communicating with others.
– Problems performing the simplest everyday chores
This disease can really take its toll, so it’s important that you don’t ignore the early symptoms and seek help as soon as you can. It can make a world of difference if the treatment starts as early as possible.