Monday, March 11, 2013
Is it normal forgetfulness or Alzheimer’s?
Haven't we all misplaced the car keys occasionally or drawn
a blank on someone's name just as we were about to make introductions?
Sometimes we feel frustrated at this occasional
forgetfulness. Sometimes we worry if it could be a sign of early Alzheimer's
Dementia.
Recently, a
vital, vibrant lady who is in her early 80s described some episodes of
forgetfulness and asked me if she could be "getting Alzheimer's."
I reassured her
that what she was experiencing was common for someone of any age. But I decided
to do a little research to prove my assertions. I checked out the Alzheimer's
Organization website www.alz.org
Here are some signs of Alzheimer's compared with typical age-related changes:
Here are some signs of Alzheimer's compared with typical age-related changes:
• The most common sign of Alzheimer's is memory loss,
particularly forgetting recently learned information. Asking for the same
information over and over is another significant sign. Normal age-related
change would be forgetting an appointment or event, but remembering it later.
• We all lose things from time to time and that can be frustrating,
but it's pretty normal. Misplacing things and being unable to retrace steps to
find them is a sign of Alzheimer's.
• Losing track of the date or the season is a sign of Alzheimer's.
It is a typical age-related change to forget which day it is and remember it
later.
• We all make a bad decision once in a while. If poor
decision-making and bad judgment becomes routine, further investigation is
warranted.
• A typical age-related change is sometimes forgetting which
word to use. A sign of Alzheimer's would be difficulty having a conversation.
I was going to add something to this list, but now I don’t
remember. Hopefully I’ll remember it later.
Alice Facente is a community education nurse for the Backus
Health System. To comment on this column or others, visit the Healthy
Living blog at www.backushospital.org/backus-blogs or e-mail Ms. Facente or any of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org.
# posted by ----------------- @ 11:25 PM 
Comments:
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Good one thanks for sharing information Alzheimers, the information on forgetfulness is very much true , i actually read this article in UShealthynews.com where it explained all, and i feel the website provides some great information on cancer
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