June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, and we are wearing purple to show our support. Like many, our Sunway family has lost a loved one to this disease. Below are 10 early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
- Memory loss gets in the way of normal life and activities. Examples include forgetting important dates or recently learned dates.
- Unable to follow a plan, or solve a problem. Some people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s find it hard to execute an agreed-on plan and if there is an obstacle often can’t solve it like they normally would.
- Normal tasks are difficult to complete. In the early stages of Alzheimer’s patients may find a task that once was so familiar like going to the grocery store is now hard to complete.
- Confusion about the day, time, and place.
- Unable to recall words. Someone in the early stages of Alzheimer’s may not be able to recall a familiar object and have to describe it instead.
- Have trouble interpreting spatial distances. In the early stages, Alzheimer’s patients may have a difficult time seeing contrasting colors and vision impairment can obstruct driving.
- Misplacing things and unable to retrace steps. A person in the early stages of Alzheimer’s may place their car keys in the freezer, and not be able to remember opening the freezer.
- Less disciplined than normal. People in the early stages of Alzheimer’s may make irrational money decisions or forget to groom themselves to their normal standards.
- Avoiding social outings. Even the most extroverted person may experience withdrawal symptoms in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.
- Personality and mood changes. An early sign of someone with Alzheimer’s is sudden mood changes, perhaps becoming more irritable and irrational.
If you or your loved one are If you notice your loved one displaying these behaviors, you should not ignore them and schedule an appointment with your health care provider right away. Also, please do not panic, a person who is aging may display some of the behaviors above and not be in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. In next week’s blog, we will compare these signs to normal senior behavior. Also, we are here to help, check out how we can support you and your family here: https://www.sunwaysseniorliving.com/
Source: https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/10_signs
