Forgetting where you put your keys, muttering about bad weather, talking too much is sometimes abnormal. Among senile dementias, Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent, accounting for 60% to 80% of all age-related neurological disorders. In all its strength, the disease manifests itself, as a rule, after 60 years. However, the first bells suggesting a bad outcome can be seen much earlier.
The death of brain cells (and this is the essence of Alzheimer’s disease) can be slowed down if you recognize the coming ailment in time and seek help from a doctor.
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Be sure to consult a specialist if you observe at least a couple of the symptoms listed below in yourself or a loved one.
Read also: 3 Simple Tips to Keep Your Brain Young and Healthy
What early symptoms of Alzheimer’s to look for
1. Regular blackouts that complicate daily life
Increasing forgetfulness is the first and most important sign that Alzheimer’s may be sneaking into you. You can’t recall what you discussed with a coworker yesterday. You forget important dates and scheduled events. More and more often, seeing a seemingly familiar face, you are plagued by the question: “I think I know him, what is his name?” You require planners, diaries, to-do lists, and sticky notes with reminders more and more.
Forgetfulness, which has reached the threshold when it seriously starts to make life more difficult, in itself, even without any other symptoms, is a serious reason to consult a therapist as soon as possible.
2. Difficulties with planning and decision making
Perhaps your memory is okay, and you remember exactly what you did yesterday and intended to do the next day. But how? The process of planning a day, until recently so straightforward and natural, becomes a tiresome burden that you wish to avoid.
To your friend’s offer to meet at lunch, you nervously reply, “I don’t know if I will be free.” Less and less often, you agree to spend the weekend with friends (after all, you need to plan an event convenient for everyone!). You frequently discover that you forget to pay utility bills on time, make bothersome math errors, and are unaware of the amount of money in your wallet. Why are there friendly plans and bills – even making a cake according to a long-known recipe becomes difficult.
This confusion speaks of problems with the so-called executive system of the brain, one of the first to be damaged when dementia occurs.
3. Difficulty completing common tasks
You’ve been playing this game for a long time, and now suddenly you cannot remember the key rule. Or you catch yourself getting lost, although you know the area well. Or look at a document open in the editor and do not understand what to click to change the font, although you have been working with this program for several months.
Failure to cope with tasks that were previously easy is another wake-up call.
4. Confusion over time and space
Sometimes you think so deeply that at some point, you start, look around and think: “Where am I? How did I get here?” Or, for instance, you might not be able to recall the precise time you ran into an old buddy – two days ago or last week? Or maybe it was in the summer?
It becomes difficult to estimate time and distance. There are problems with the descent and ascent of the stairs, taking a bath (after all, you need to climb into it, having determined the depth and the required movements), finding the way to the desired place.
Also read: 6 Ways to Reduce The Risk of Senile Dementia
5. Problems with speaking and writing
You start to forget the words more frequently and replace them with something like, “Well, that thing that you get it.” In general, the vocabulary is becoming more limited. But verbosity appears; disturbances in the brain’s work do not allow formulating thoughts clearly, and briefly, you have to indulge in lengthy arguments. And in the process, you often find yourself on the fact that you forgot what, in fact, you wanted to say.
Adapted and translated by The Cop Cart Staff
Sources: Life hacker
