Alzheimer's disease is one of the 10 top causes of death in the United States and the only condition that no one can prevent, cure or slow down yet.
Alzheimer's disease progresses over time, gradually impacting memory, language, and general cognitive functioning. The family of people with Alzheimer's doesn't recognize any problem until the symptoms are apparent and the disease is relatively advanced. However, the family members can detect some signs and symptoms in the person's cognitive-communication behaviors before the disease moves to the advanced stages.
1. Memory loss that interferes with the person's ability to complete activity daily life (ADL) independently. The memory loss may include forgetting names, repeatedly talking about the same subject or asking the same questions over and over, leaving the stove on, misplacing personal items or households and looking for them, or missing appointments.
2. Having problems in planning or problem solving: The person may start showing the inability to follow multi-step directions or find a solution for problems in the house, like seeking help for a non-working appliance.
3. Having problems completing familiar tasks or routines: The person exhibits difficulties remembering the dish's recipe known by heart best.
4. Having problems in orientation: the person may have problems keeping up with the time, place, or persons in her immediate environment. For example, the person may occasionally forget the date, season, or year. These signs of disorientation will happen more often as the disease advances.
5. They were having trouble with comprehending spatial relationships and visual concepts. The family may see the person has difficulty reading, identifying the colors, or judging the distance.
6. Experiencing language problems: The person may have difficulties carrying a conversation by asking repetitive questions or leaving the conversation by losing the thought of using the wrong words for familiar objects; for example, to say, "I left my glasses on the fridge instead; of on the table." In the early stages, the person may accept the mistake when correcting it; however, we may see more resistance in later stages as the disease progresses.
7. Misplacing things frequently: In the early stages of Alzheimer's, you may lose things like 'keys',' glasses,' or put them in odd places that would be hard to locate the lost items.
8. Experiencing poor judgment and insight: In later stages, the person with Alzheimer's may seem reckless and have problems in decision making that interfere with their daily life and independent living. For example, the person may give a large amount of money to someone or wear dirty clothes after the shower. In some cases, the person may even argue and resist the objection. It would be hard to convince them to change their mind.
9. Inability to work and socializing: Social withdrawal is expected in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Due to increasing confusion and language problems, the person shows failure in using appropriate cognitive-communication skills when interacting with coworkers or friends, leading to spending less time with others and feeling lost in conversation and socializing.
10. Mood and personality changes: The person with Alzheimer's disease will experience anxiety, depression, anger, and agitation.
11. It is essential to know that an average aging person may show some of these signs and symptoms but less severe and don't impact daily life and independence.