Senior Living

By Jan Shapan:

The aging process for many seniors invokes fears of losing mental capacity. The decline in mental fitness often triggers a search for the best research and early warning signs of dementia or the dreaded Alzheimers disease.

The early signs of Alzheimers can begin in the 50s which is a surprise to most people but the hardest hit demographic for Alzheimers occurs when onset of the disease hits seniors in their 70s.

In time, virtually every person succumbs to the ravages of Alzheimers. Estimates suggest as many as 5 million senior citizens will be hit with Alzheimers in 2010 alone.

According to the Alzheimers Association, there are 10 key signs of Alzheimer that every senior should be aware of:

• Disruptive memory loss: Early signs include failure to remember recently learned information, key dates or functions, over reliance aides such as written or electronic notes or repetitive requests for the same information. Don’t mistake this sign with the occasional failure to remember something today and recalling it tomorrow.
• Failure in planning and problem resolution: Watch for loved ones that were good with numbers and following directions and suddenly begin to struggle executing simple daily plans or can’t manage routine tasks such as following a cooking recipe or organizing and paying monthly bills. And these tasks are demanding more than normal time to complete.
• Challenged by familiar tasks: What were once considered simple and routine daily tasks become challenging. Finding familiar places, managing personal checkbook or forgetting how to play a game. This is not the same as forgetting how to adjust the settings on your VCR.
• Time Confusion: Early Alzheimer patients begin to lose routine awareness of dates, changing seasons or movements of time. Wondering where they are is not uncommon or not knowing how they got where they are. This isn’t the same as thinking it is Friday when it is only Thursday and recognizing it a bit later.
• Confusion with images and spatial relationships: Basic vision problems may be a sign including difficulty reading, identifying colors or contrasts. Or their own image in a mirror may be unrecognized as their own and may think someone else is with them.
• Challenges with common speaking and writing: Pay attention if you see a loved on struggling to participate in a routine family conversation. You may find them stopping in the middle of a sentence or repeating themselves. Or you may find them struggling to remember the right words or using the wrong words for a common home item.
• Misplacing personal things: You may find a loved one putting items in very unusual places or putting an item away and then unable to recall the steps to find the item. This happens to people periodically but Alzheimers patients encounter these more and more frequently.
• Loss of good judgment: Watch for a loved one that begins to show poor judgment or bad decisions. This may show up in consistently poor personal grooming habits, failure to stay clean or making poor money or investment decisions.
• Personal Withdrawal: A loved one with Alzheimers will begin to withdraw and show unusual disinterest or inability to deal with personal hobbies, work projects or social functions.
• Mood and personality shifts: Look for unusual changes in moods or personality such as confusion, suspicious, fearful or depressed and a consistent anxiousness or dread. You may notice outbursts at work or home.

These simple signs are not intended to replace professional diagnostic assistance. The may serve to motivate family members that notice some of these indicators in a loved one to seek help from a qualified doctor and learn how to properly respond.

For more information about Alzheimers disease, we recommend your visit the Alzheimer’s Association website at http://www.alz.org

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About The Author:

Janet Shapan, has been a publisher, writer and media designer in the special interest magazine and TV production business for over 25 years. A Boomer, her passion is identifying and sharing current innovations in health, wellness and other lifestyle categories of interest to Seniors. For more information on Senior Living, visit: http://For-Seniors.org or http://LivingSenior.org