Tanda- tanda Seseorang Mengidap Alzheimer

Apabila perkataan Alzheimer disebutkan, perkara pertama yang terlintas di fikiran adalah kehilangan ingatan. Anggapan ini betul memandangkan doktor telah menentukan ini sebagai gangguan yang biasanya berlaku pada orang tua.

Terdapat banyak gejala Alzheimer dan doktor sering mengaitkannya dengan tujuh peringkat. Tidak ada punca kecemasan dalam dua peringkat pertama kerana orang yang paling pintar cenderung selalu melupakan perkara.

Dua peringkat pertama mungkin berlangsung selama empat tahun. Namun, apabila ini berlaku lebih kerap, pesakit mungkin sudah berada di tahap ketiga atau keempat dan ini akan bertambah buruk. Contoh mudah ialah jika individu tidak dapat menyelesaikan tugas mudah yang mudah dilakukan pada masa lalu seperti melakukan aritmetik asas.

Orang pasti akan melihat perubahannya. Inilah sebab mengapa beberapa ahli keluarga mengambil giliran mengawasi orang yang disayangi atau meminta jururawat mengawasi orang tersebut.

Tahap kelima lebih dikenali sebagai Alzheimer sederhana kerana selain tidak dapat mengingat nama atau melakukan sesuatu tanpa pertolongan, individu itu akan menjadi bingung dan kadang kala tersesat.

Satu langkah berjaga-jaga yang sering dilakukan ialah pesakit memakai kad pengenalan di leher atau diletakkan di dalam poket. Ini mengandungi nama, alamat dan orang kenalan yang harus dipanggil ketika ini berlaku.

Tahap keenam Alzheimer adalah ketika orang itu juga mula mengalami perubahan mood. Pesakit mungkin senang bercakap dengan orang lain apabila tiba-tiba semuanya berubah dan sikapnya sekarang memusuhi sesiapa sahaja yang berada di sana.

Bahagian yang lebih teruk mengenai gangguan semasa peringkat ini adalah bahawa orang itu akan bertindak seperti bayi. Tantrum mungkin dilemparkan tetapi bahagian yang lebih teruk adalah melihat pesakit membuang air besar pada dirinya sendiri. Pengasuh harus membersihkan kekacauan seolah-olah orang itu adalah bayi dan dinasihatkan untuk menggunakan lampin orang dewasa, yang lebih selesa ketika membersihkan kekacauan.

Tahap ketujuh Alzheimer tidak lagi buruk. Ini kerana sistem badan akan perlahan-lahan ditutup. Pesakit tidak akan bercakap atau melakukan apa-apa dan biasanya akan merenung ke angkasa.

Ia seperti orang yang melepaskan kehendak untuk hidup. Tubuh mungkin ada tetapi fikiran atau jiwa telah pergi ke tempat lain.

Sesiapa yang didiagnosis menghidap Alzheimer mempunyai masa tinggal kurang dari 10 tahun. Doktor hanya bertahan pada tahap ketiga dan keempat kerana gejala kehilangan ingatan jangka pendek hampir tidak dapat dilihat dan sering dikaitkan dengan penuaan.

Apa yang boleh dilakukan orang untuk mereka yang menghidap Alzheimer? Sayangnya, tidak banyak yang dapat dilakukan oleh seseorang kerana belum ada penawar untuk penyakit ini. Terdapat ubat-ubatan yang tersedia yang hanya dapat melambatkan proses sebelum menjadi lebih teruk tetapi mereka yang merawat hanya menunda perkara yang tidak dapat dielakkan.

Penyelidikan menunjukkan bahawa terdapat lebih daripada empat juta orang di negara ini yang menderita penyakit ini. Angka itu akan meningkat lebih tinggi kerana generasi baby boom juga mencapai usia yang sama.

Selagi ada ubat yang dapat melambatkan prosesnya, doktor mungkin dapat membeli sedikit lebih banyak masa sehingga orang itu dapat hidup untuk melihat hari penawarnya telah dibuat.

Alzheimer's Disease and Its Symptoms

Alzheimer's disease, also known as the most common form of dementia, is named after the German neurologist Dr. Alois Alzheimer who first identified the disease in 1907. The main concern with Alzheimer's disease is that it allows the rapid degeneration of healthy brain tissue associated with cognitive abilities such as judgment, comprehension and memory.

The root cause of this phenomenon in Alzheimer's disease remains unclear and is still under study. This degeneration of the brain tissues causes a steady decline in memory as well as a steady loss of essential mental abilities responsible for thought, memory, and language. More than four million of the older population in the US is known to be stricken with Alzheimer's disease. The number of people suffering from this debilitating condition is expected to triple within the next 20 years.

The most common symptoms of Alzheimer's are loss of memory, the decline of intellectual functions and sudden changes in personality. At the first stages of the disease, symptoms exhibited are patients becoming easily tired, upset and anxious.

With Alzheimer's disease the changes that happen may be gradual over time and not so sudden. But as the disease progresses, so does the Alzheimer's symptoms as they accelerate and become more serious and noticeable enough for the people involved to seek help. The usual course of the disease can take anything from five to ten years, from how the Alzheimer's symptoms develop from simple forgetfulness to showing up as severe dementia.

On the part of the patient, the initial Alzheimer's symptom that can be very frightening is the realization that something is happening to their memory. Although simple forgetfulness is not the only Alzheimer's symptom to look for, but it reaches the degree as even forgetting the names of people that the patient sees often, then the condition is a possible Alzheimer's symptom. The Alzheimer's symptom starts off with slight memory loss and confusion. It then ultimately leads to severe and irreversible mental impairment if left to develop without any form of initial treatment.

The Alzheimer's symptom will further lead to degeneration of a person's ability to remember, reason, learn and even imagine. The Alzheimer's symptom of forgetfulness can include the names of family members being forgotten as well as familiar everyday objects such as a comb and mirror.

Another possible symptom of the disease include difficulty experienced with abstract thinking. This symptom initially begins with typically mundane everyday things like not balancing a check book and may further develop into not understanding and recognizing numbers.

Difficulty finding the right word can also be an Alzheimer's symptom that challenges the patient with finding the correct words for expression. It will eventually lead to a diminished ability to follow conversations and further progress to affect one's reading and writing skills.

Disorientation with time and dates is also an evident symptom of Alzheimer's, even further deteriorating to the degree as to frequently losing themselves in even very familiar surroundings.

Loss of judgment is an Alzheimer's symptom that prevents the patient from solving everyday problems and doing simple tasks like cooking on the stove. This Alzheimer's symptom in its extreme form will lead to difficulty with anything that requires planning, decision-making and judgment.

Personality change is an Alzheimer's symptom that presents itself as the gradual development of mood swings, distrust, stubbornness and eventual withdrawal from the patient's usual social circle. Depression is also a coexistent Alzheimer's symptom alongside with growing restlessness. In its severe form, the Alzheimer's symptom further develops into anxiety, aggressiveness and inappropriate behavior.

Understanding Alzheimers Better

Alzheimers information is important for individuals who may be at the first stages of this disease. However, it is also very important for friends, family and caregivers of people with Alzheimers disease to have enough Alzheimers information to be able to understand the process of the progression of the disease as well as what to expect and what is the best care and treatment for this.

To understand Alzheimers more, we need to look at and understand dementia. Dementia is a mental disorder characterized by the loss of cognitive abilities. It is an extremely debilitating disease that afflicts some individuals in their old age. Alzheimers information shows that Alzheimers disease is the most common form of this disorder that greatly impairs normal mental operations.

There is no certain prevention or cure for Alzheimers disease right now but continuous studies and tests are being made toward this endeavor because according to Alzheimers information, this disease is irreversible. The disease also continues to progress into different stages and symptoms of this worsen over time.

One of the earliest symptoms of Alzheimers is short term memory loss.  It then progresses into a gradual decline of other cognitive abilities. After the disease has progressed further, one may notice a marked change in the sufferer's behavior and at the very last stages of the disease, the individual with Alzheimers will have to depend on others for simple activities such as eating and mobility.

Alzheimers information tells us that the course of the disease varies from person to person with a range of five to twenty years. Alzheimers eventually ends in death due to complications and infections.

Although more and more Alzheimers information has been collated and researched throughout the years, the progress has been steady but slow. For instance, the Alzheimers information on what causes the disease is still uncertain. There are some major hypotheses that seem to revolve around two factors: genetic or hereditary and a complex environmental interaction.

Alzheimers information shows us that it is primarily a disease that affects the brain. It is in the abnormalities in the brain that result in massive atrophy of the brain's neurotransmitters, nerves and neurons. From these stem the malfunctions that begin with short term memory loss to sever impairment to memory and the loss of motor skills and other normal bodily functions.

An abnormally large deposit of protein in the brain causes the massive atrophy. The absolute detection of Alzheimers can only really be done post mortem through an autopsy where the brain is examined and it shows a significant amount of shrinkage and a smoothening of the usual brain wrinkles.

However, one need not wait for an autopsy to find out whether one is suffering from Alzheimers disease or not. With modern Alzheimers information, one can have an 85 % to 90% accuracy in the diagnosis of the disease. No laboratory tests are done.

Instead, there will be some cognitive tests and with a series of exercises and questions that are crossed checked against other possible sources of dementia. These mental tests done to be able to diagnose Alzheimers help also by letting the physician know at which stage of progression the sufferer may be at.

Individuals with the age of 65 and above are most likely to be at risk of Alzheimers.