It's a sad fact that Alzheimer's disease and dementia are growing more common nowadays. As more of our country's population ages into their golden years, these debilitating mental conditions begin to creep in and wreak havoc on brain health, with still no cure or treatment in sight. These instances will unfortunately become only more frequent as we see more of the Baby Boomer generation enter old age.
To help best spread awareness of this disease and the toll it takes on our elderly loved ones, it's crucial to know how to spot Alzheimer's and when and where it may appear. Last week we covered five of those red flags, as compiled by Yahoo! Health, but are here five more essentials to know:
- Conversation difficulties: People afflicted with Alzheimer's disease may have trouble following a conversation and could stop in the middle of speaking or repeat themselves to jog their memory about what they were saying in the first place.
- Reclusiveness: Becoming more isolated from social gatherings and interactions is an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease.
- Struggling with decisions: One of the early signs of Alzheimer's disease is difficulties with decision-making. This could range from simply making poor choices — like a bad investment in the stock market — to simply paying less attention to hygiene and personal appearance.
- Visual-spatial problems: Patients with Alzheimer's disease may become confused when trying to judge distances, read books or identify a specific color. These kinds of problems — particularly regarding color and distance identification — can be especially disconcerting when driving.
- What was familiar is now difficult: Familiar tasks that patients could once know like the back of their hand — like budgeting or dealing with money — now either take more time or greater difficulty to complete.
Check back with our blog for more news about Alzheimer's disease, and click here to learn about selection of brain support supplements.