How to Recognize the Alzheimers Stages


Alzheimers disease is generally thought to consist of three different stages of the illness, with a variety of symptoms that can appear with each stage. The intensity and severity of the symptoms will increase throughout the Alzheimers stages, ending with the most incapacitating symptoms that basically render the patient incapable of caring for himself. It is important to be familiar with the signs and symptoms of all of the Alzheimers stages, so that you can get an early diagnosis of the illness. This will help you to prepare better for what is to come, and perhaps manage the illness a bit more effectively. The early Alzheimers stage is sometimes the hardest to recognize, but there are key symptoms to watch for even at this early point.

First Stage

The first Alzheimers stage consists of symptoms like mild memory loss, lapses in judgment and subtle changes to the patients personality. You may see your family member develop a greater difficulty in remembering names and faces. In the course of a conversation, he may have more trouble with finding the right words, and he may even substitute completely different words for the ones that he is having difficulty remembering. You may see his temper flare as tasks and conversations become somewhat more challenging.

Middle Stage

This Alzheimers stage includes many of the symptoms that come to mind when you think of this disease. Your family member may begin to have difficulty recognizing family and friends, and he may confuse a brother with a nephew or a spouse with a cousin. You may notice that your family member asks repeatedly about the time of day or year, and that getting dressed becomes a much bigger challenge. You may see the patient put his shoes on the wrong feet or try to slip pajamas on over his clothing. This is also the Alzheimers stage where some patients begin to wander, leading to a great deal of concern and panic from family members when the patient cannot be located. Sometimes urinary and fecal incontinence become symptoms of this Alzheimers stage as well.

Final Stage

This Alzheimers stage is by far the most debilitating, and some patients cannot walk or even sit up without assistance. Incontinence is a frequent occurrence at this point, and eating becomes much more difficult as swallowing can cause choking. Your family member is probably not communicative at this Alzheimers stage, which means that you cannot tell at this point what your family member might want or need. This phase can be very difficult to manage, and is often when family members will place the patient into a full-time care facility.

Alzheimers is a difficult illness to deal with, both for the patient and family member caring for him. Recognizing the Alzheimers stages is the first step in managing this illness.

Test For Alzheimer

In its earliest stages, a person may suffer memory lapses or behavioral changes so subtle that not even close family members will probably recognize them.

The way a lot of people go about this is by using message boards online. Alzheimers disease is actually a form of dementia. Much of what constitutes Alzheimers disease diagnosis is eliminating other possible diseases.

They are still able to take care of themselves, but may need to be supervised as they get confused easily and dont remember what they are doing.
According to Sparks, patients showed marked improvement after having had Lipitor Alzheimers treatment for six months than they were prior to taking such medication. There are four chromosomes that have been shown to have something to do with the development of Alzheimers. The Diagnosis of Alzheimers Disease Not as Easy as it Sounds?

There really is no warning to the cause or symptoms of alzheimers disease, so in order to know that you are aware as possible of the onset of alzheimers disease you need to know what to look for.
In addition, the Alzheimers medical alert bracelets can also be in the form of a piece of jewelry and need not necessarily is just a plain band of steel worn around your wrist. In short, all of the thought cause of alzheimers disease is mostly speculation meaning there is no proof as of yet to scientists theories. A patient in the early stages of Alzheimers may begin to put things in odd places, like his wallet in the dishwasher or socks in the refrigerator. A patients history can be a very important indicator of whether or not they may be predisposed to Alzheimers disease or other forms of dementia.