People sometimes take pride in taking care of their aged parents but there are instances when they get tired of their habits. One needs to look at the root cause of their habits and need to ensure why the aged are behaving in such a manner. Nobody wants to repeat the same request again and again but of late you have noticed that your father making the same requests to you repeatedly. Instead of giving you sufficient time to carry out the request, he is asking for you to perform that task each time you come face to face with him.
There are certain diseases that cause these types of behaviors in people, especially those who are 65 years or more in age and the most common of such diseases is Alzheimer’s disease. While Alzheimer’s is rarely found in young people there are 50% chances of people aged 85 and above being affected by it. This disease attacks the cells of the brain and causes various types of brain disorders including loss of memory. If your father is requesting you to perform the task again and again, chances are that he is suffering from Alzheimer’s and has forgot that he had made that request to you previously.
Many people think that loss of memory is a part of aging, but this is not correct. There are many senior citizens whose memories are far better and sharper than that of young people. Though Alzheimer’s is not specifically a hereditary disease, in rare instances it can carry over from one generation to another. Those affected by this disease will slowly find their capabilities to recognize ordinary things like people around them wearing away.
Apart from that those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease also find problems in conducting their day to day activities. At times this can become a soul wrenching problem for the other members of the family as they find their dear and beloved ones struggling to remember the simple things of life. Initially, Alzheimer’s does not attack one severely and in the early stages one might find the patient suffering from loss of memory. They also find it tough to handle day to day tasks and one might find a change in their personality and mood. Asking the same questions is another pointer that identifies that a person is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Generally the old memories are not affected as much as the recent memories of the patient suffering from this disease. If not taken care of properly, Alzheimer’s disease moves over into an advanced stage and it is here that it begins to take frightening properties. The level of memory loss is increased and the patient might not even recognize his near and dear ones. At times it has been noticed that certain patients of Alzheimer’s disease become suspicious of others and also start getting afraid of them. As of date there is no cure for Alzheimer’s but recent advances in medical science can slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s.
It is not fully confirmed but according to scientific sources more than 60% cases of dementia are due to Alzheimer’s. The other types of dementias can be cured and then again there are different types of treatment for different types of dementias, hence it is important that one makes sure that the person suffering from loss of memory is actually suffering from Alzheimer’s disease before going is for suitable treatment. There are certain means by which one can identify this yet incurable disease and here are a few of them. Though the indications provided below are not exhaustive, they are informative enough.