Healthy Living

Interestingly, I got a score of 93 percent on the quiz “”The Sweet Truth About Ice Cream.”  I guess I know a lot about sweet treats and brain freezes.

I was a little surprised that I only scored a 63 percent on the WebMD.com quiz, “Alzheimer’s Myths and Facts.” I thought I was more knowledgeable than that, correctly answering only five out of eight questions.

Here is a sample: Which is the number one risk factor for Alzheimer’s — aluminum cans, age, or flu shots?   I chose aluminum cans because for years I have heard the warnings to avoid deodorants containing aluminum or food that comes in aluminum cans.  It turns out that the correct answer is: Age. It’s the No. 1 risk factor. The older you are, the more likely you are to get Alzheimer's. The actual cause isn't fully known.  

The list of things that don’t cause dementia includes aluminum cans and cooking pots, flu shots, artificial sweeteners, and silver dental fillings.

Here’s another one: Who spends more on Alzheimer’s care — live-in caregivers, local caregivers, or long-distance caregivers?  I figured it was local caregivers.  The correct answer:  long-distance caregivers.   

Those who live more than two hours away from a loved one with Alzheimer's spend almost $10,000 per year on travel, phone, and paid helpers. That's almost twice as much as those who live locally. Local caregivers put in more hours, though, according to WebMD.

Kristine Johnson, of the Alzheimer’s Association chapter in Norwich, is very aware of the challenges that caregivers face when caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. She teaches seminars for caregivers on a variety of appropriate topics, from “The 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s”  to “Connecting with the Unconnected World of Alzheimer’s” about how to communicate with a person who has lost language skills and cognitive ability.  Kristine says that early detection is key to getting the maximum benefit from medical treatments as well as help plan for the future.

After reading warning sign number 6, I was reassured that my occasional forgetfulness and fumbling for the right word is actually typical of aging and the frantic pace of our lives.  A sign of Alzheimer’s is when a person has trouble following or joining a conversation. They may stop in the middle of a conversation and have no idea how to continue, or they may repeat themselves.  My husband reassures me that I never have trouble joining or following a conversation, but he will keep this warning sign in the back of his mind and reassess frequently.