Dealing with Alzheimers

What is Alzheimer’s disease? Many people are unaware of the symptoms and pain it could cause someone very close to you. In this article one will find valuable information about how you can look out for signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s and how you can care for someone with it.

Alois Alzheimer discovered the disease in 1906. Over the years scientists have described Alzheimer’s as a progressive and fatal brain disease. It is a disease that destroys brain cells that cause memory loss and can cause problems with thinking and behavior that can affect activities in everyday life. It is a disease that only gets worse over time and there is no cure, however there are medications that are known to slow down the process.

Over 5.3 Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s and it is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. What is the cause? Scientists aren’t exactly sure how a patient develops Alzheimer’s but it has been said that it can be obtained through genetics or different environmental factors.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s vary from person to person but the most common side effects are, memory loss, forgetting things like names of people, and even relationships one has with another individual. As the disease progresses symptoms may worsen. Someone with the disease could forget how to get somewhere they have been a dozen times and also they may start to feel nervous or sad at times. Some people will drive somewhere and completely forget how they got there.

People with Alzheimer’s eventually need someone by their side almost 24 hours a day once the disease gets to a critical point.

“Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s can be very challenging at times, you know they need someone to help them at all times so you must be very patient with them, or else it could make their condition worse,” Cindy Duga, RN at DePaul hospital said.

Everyone with Alzheimer’s deals with it differently than others. There are many ways to care for someone with this disease. Here are a few ways you can be of help to a diagnosed individual. Make sure they are doing enough daily activities, having things to do in their day sometimes helps relieve the feeling of being lost. Communication is also important as well, let them know someone is there for them and cares for them.

Another important thing to consider is safety and health risks. Lots of times patients of Alzheimer’s could possibly do something to hurt themselves because sometimes they don’t realize what they are doing at all.

"My advice, as an Alzheimer's care giver, for many years, know and understand the disease so that you can respond to the Alzheimer's victim with patience and compassion. One of the difficulties with living with an Alzheimer's patient is that they get frustrated easily, and your patience will help relieve their frustration and help them to adjust to the change more easily," Cheryl Clines, caregiver and mother of a SCC student said.