Medical science has determined a lot of things through the years. It has discovered various diseases and its causes. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of unknowns. Doctors are unable to determine the cause of cancer, the cure for AIDS and even something that called Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's is considered to be a disorder that will affect one's mental and physical state. It normally happens to people 65 years of age and above that can affect anyone regardless of sex.
There are seven known stages for this type of disorder and it only gets worse as time goes by.
In the first stage, the individual and those around will not notice anything wrong. The person may forget a thing or two, which everyone experiences so there is no cause for alarm yet.
During the second stage, the person may already feel something wrong as this memory lapses happen more frequently. Again, there is no need yet to be alarmed because people tend to forget things due to aging.
The third stage is the time when someone can be suspected of having this disease. The person will falter at work or be unable to accomplish some simple tasks and people will take notice of these changes.
In the fourth stage, the individual can no longer handle certain activities and will require the assistance of those around to accomplish it.
The fifth stage is what doctors describe to be moderate Alzheimer's disease. The individual will not only forget other people but also be unable to recall certain facts about oneself. There will also be periods of disorientation.
In the sixth stage better known as moderately severe Alzheimer's, there will already mood swings. The patient may be happy and in the next minute appear hostile to those around. There will also be fecal and urinary incontinence just like a baby who is not yet toilet trained.
The seventh and final stage is called severe Alzheimer's. The individual will not be able to speak much and do anything anymore. The patient will probably just stare into space so there will be times that those around will have to carry and force feed to be able to stay alive.
Alzheimer's disease happens gradually. The only thing people can do is slow down the process before it gets to the succeeding stage by using drugs and giving proper care to the patient.
As the patient's condition gets worse, the person is no longer treated as a human being by merely as a subject with the disorder. This shouldn't be the case given that the individual at point in life accomplished a lot of things and never wanted this to happen in the end.
There are more than four million people in the United States that are diagnosed with this disorder. This number will definitely grow in the years to come as more and more Americans will reach the retirement age.
Those who have family members who are suffering from this disease should learn about the various stages to be able to understand what the patient is going through to give the proper help.
There are books and other information on the web as well as support groups since this disease affects not only the patient but also those who have to live with it.
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When one reaches the later years of one’s life, systems will slow down and bones will weaken. This is the time when you will not be able to do the things that you used to do before or if you were still able to do it, you would not be able to do it with the same speed and strength as you used to before.
That is the sad fact about aging. Things will slow down and eventually, little by little, disappear.
But that is not always the case. For some people, the aging process can speed up especially in the area of the brain.
This is what scientists call Alzheimer’s.
It is a degenerative and progressive disease that targets the brain, particularly the areas that deal with learning and memory. Although it often affects people over the age of 80, there are some who are diagnosed with the problem as early as their 40s and 50s. There are also rare cases when Alzheimer’s attacks at late 20s.
Alzheimer’s Disease is characterized by a progressive memory loss and inability to focus attention on one thing. People with this disease will forget their names, their addresses and will cease to recognize their husbands, children and people who are close to them.
When it is on its later stages, language problems may also happen because of the inability of the person to recall words that are appropriate for what they are going to say. The disease may also result to behavioral changes because of progressive memory loss. There are some patients who don’t remember how to go about their normal functions such as eating, sleeping or brushing their teeth. Some may even forget how to breathe.
This is the reason why most old people dread this disease. It can really be debilitating, robbing you of your life and often times your loved one.
Although nothing has been proven yet, some studies show that doing mental tasks can actually slow down the progression of the disease. For instance, patients who love to answer puzzles and play mental games like chess are slower in their progression compared to other patients with the same degree and case of Alzheimer. Because of this, some scientists believe that Alzheimer’s can be prevented through the use of the mental process.
Below are some ways to prevent Alzheimer’s from settling in.
Learn something new
Old age is not a reason to stop learning new things. You can learn a variety of things, dancing, cooking, singing, a new language, crafts, the arts. There are so many things to choose from. Don the things that you have not done before, things that you never thought, you’ll be doing. Your age should not be hindrance to the things that you want to do.
In addition to enriching your life, learning something new affords a fresh challenge for your brains. This way, your mental processes will be used once again. This keeps the brain cells in shape and sharp.
Play mind games
This is not to say that you should be scheming and plotting, stirring the boat for the members of your family. Mind games here refer to the tamer kind, crossword puzzles, sudoku. These are ways to sharpen those mental skills and memory. This also allows you to practice or be familiar with words and things once again, lessening the chance of you forgetting them.
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