We were born in good health and shape, and we start to lose this privilege while growing and aging.
It all starts when we wish to grow up and be more independent, and take responsibility.
We go through youth time with energy, enthusiasm, and passion until we reach a particular stage, where we pay for the former days.
No doubt, your daily habits, and routines affect your health in general, coinciding with aging day after day.
It’s all about how the body works; at some point, cells just stop to recover and multiply as they used to do. Therefore, the body starts to look older and lose the ability to do things gradually.
Alzheimer’s is what could happen due to this stage; brain cells begin to lose the ability to run well.
Trying to understand why it could happen, so many researches were done concerning Alzheimer’s. To be honest, it’s still not clear for us, but at least we have some top points to follow.
Let’s spread out what we know regarding Alzheimer disease:
What’s Alzheimer’s? What happens?
To answer, we should get a glance at how the brain actually works.
The human brain consists of 100 billion nerve cells, working together in harmony and processing billions of data and decisions every second.
Every single cell could be compared to a single machine, which needs fuel to work correctly, produce, and does its job.
Then, this machine has to get rid of waste to receive more fuel and start all this cycle again.
But every machine is subjected to malfunctions and damages, which prevent it from doing its job normally; that’s what could simplify Alzheimer’s.
Usually, it hits the brain cells after 65; it’s when a patient needs elderly care or asks for home nursing services to help him through his daily challenges.
Is it Dementia?
So many people are mixing up Dementia with Alzheimer’s, while they are not the same.
Dementia is the title we give to some symptoms regarding memory problems, reasoning, and many other thinking failures.
However, Dementia is not a disease, while Alzheimer’s is.
Statistics reveal that Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of Dementia; up to 60 – 80 % of dementia cases are due to it.
In general, Dementia is not directly connected to aging. It’s a direct consequence of brain cell damage due to different and variable causes.
It’s when the patient starts to lose focus and needs someone to help him, maybe ask for a home nursing service.
While Alzheimer’s is a brain disease caused by several brain changes, which lead to Dementia that worsens over time, it leads to some more symptoms, starting from remembering problems and reaching more severe symptoms. if you need to know how to choose the right home nursing services, you can read this article
Alzheimer’s disease Symptoms.
To get the full image of this disease, we have to know its symptoms and early signs.
The risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s increases with getting older. It’s more common for people over 65 years old.
It’s more likely to ask for an elderly care service or a home nursing service throughout this age limit.
However, there are still recorded cases between younger ages.
Alzheimer’s disease causes so many symptoms; let’s try to cover them up.
Early signs:
Some early signs could make us worry and consider going to a doctor:
Memory Loss:
When a patient starts to forget recently learned information, important dates, or events, while he didn’t use to forget.
Or needing to be remembered to do things and activities he used to handle on his own.
Ability of planning:
In some cases, a patient starts to lose his ability to plan and solve problems. They face more difficulty while dealing with numbers, following a plan, or working according to known steps that he used to do several times before.
Time and Place Confusion:
Asking where I am? Or what day is it? More frequently would be a glowing sign.
A patient is more likely to lose date track and get confused with weekdays. In some cases, they may forget how they ended up in a certain place.
They would leave home and walk for distances without really know where they are heading to.
That’s why they should not be left alone; if there’s no available family member, home care or elderly care service should be considered. And for severe cases, home nursing service is highly recommended.
Visual Problems:
In some cases, a patient may lose the average ability to recognize shapes and images, which could lead to some difficulties in reading.
Moreover, it could lead them to misjudge distances and edges, which could be very dangerous in driving.
Speaking and Writing Problems:
One of the early signs is facing some troubles while speaking. At some point, the patient would lose track of a conversation.
He finds himself in the middle of it, not really knowing what he has to say or what the conversation subject is.
In general, he would face serious difficulty in naming things, losing his vocabulary ability, which could also lead to some writing problems.
Misplacing things and getting suspicious:
A patient would forget where he placed things, as he misplaced them in an unusual location in the first place.
This could lead him to be more suspicious and accuse those around him of stealing.
Mood swings:
It’s more common for Alzheimer’s patients to suffer from severe mood changes. He could instantly feel anxious, confused, depressed, or fearful without an apparent reason.
Also, he could lose his flexibility regarding dealing with different circumstances; he would get upset quickly when out of his comfort zone.
Late Stages Symptoms:
Unfortunately, once it started, it never ends.
Alzheimer’s disease keeps progressing and advancing with time. As the patient gets older, symptoms get more severe and serious.
What happens is that all the early signs start to become more evident and cause some dangerous consequences. It’s when real help is needed, and a home nursing service would be beneficial.
A patient starts to forget more frequently. He even would forget the names of his family members and close friends. Moreover, he would not recognize his beloved ones’ faces.
While the case advances, an Alzheimer’s patient is more likely to lose the sense of place and time.
He could easily get lost and doesn’t know how to go home or head to any familiar location.
At a very late stage, a patient would face more severe symptoms, such as difficulties in speaking, swallowing, and walking.
In this case, it’s essential that the patient receives a proper home care service. He should always be under surveillance and maybe ask for nursing help.
On average, Alzheimer’s patients would live from 4 to 8 years after diagnosis. However, some cases could endure more time, as long as 20 years.