September is the global month dedicated to the scourge of 20th century, dementia and disease Alzheimer's. According to statistics, one in five people over the age of 80 will develop some form of dementia. In our country around 200,000 people currently suffer from dementia and the number is expected to increase dramatically in the future.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. Its main characteristic is the deterioration of brain function in terms of memory, behaviour, decision-making, personality and the use of language. These symptoms can even appear prematurely in people under sixty.
Diagnosing Alzheimer's is not easy, so doctors point out that these are the signs to watch out for.
Memory loss
Perhaps the most common symptom. It becomes more obvious when the person forgets information they have recently learned, such as not being able to remember the name of someone they have just met, and having to ask multiple times. It is also common to forget important dates, such as birthdays and anniversaries. Memory loss is associated with advanced age, but the symptoms of the disease get progressively worse.
Lost objects
Another common symptom is that the patient increasingly forgets where they have left certain objects. And this does not necessarily mean that he will not be able to remember where he left, for example, his keys, but also that he may leave the objects in strange places.
Lost
Alzheimer's affects memory and thinking in such a way that the patient can lose orientation in familiar places, such as the route from the supermarket to the house.
Problems with time and space
This symptom occurs less frequently in the early stages, but patients may forget where they are, or how they got there - even if they are at home. More common are problems with time. For example, the patient may believe that something important happened very recently, when it happened months, or even years, earlier.
Problems in using the language
Alzheimer's patients may not only have difficulty finding the right words, but they may use strange expressions because they cannot remember the names of objects. In addition, they may find it difficult to have conversations, stopping in the middle, not knowing where to start again.
Changes in personality and mood
Often, these changes are the first thing that others notice in a patient. Symptoms may include an unexplained lack of trust in friends and loved ones, paranoid thoughts, anxiety or depression. It becomes even more obvious when people who are generally calm begin to display aggression for no reason. It is also very easy to become agitated in situations that get out of their daily routine.
Difficulty in concentrating
Alzheimer's can affect whether a person can follow a plan, whether it's a cooking recipe or anything that might contain instructions. Anything that has to do with numbers, such as managing finances, can become increasingly difficult.
The symptoms get worse
As the disease progresses, the symptoms become more and more severe. Often the patient will not be able to recognize loved ones, will forget details of their life, may speak without making sense or hallucinate, and their judgment may reach a point where they become dangerous to themselves.
There is no cure for Alzheimer's, but rapid diagnosis is important so that the patient can receive the appropriate medication to delay the progression of the disease as much as possible.
How to protect yourself from Alzheimer's?
Regular physical and mental exercise seems to protect against dementia. Highly educated people who exercise their minds systematically have Alzheimer's disease at an older age and in a milder form than those who keep their minds idle.
Activities such as reading, mental games (cards, chess) or even simpler activities such as crossword puzzles can keep the elderly's cognitive functions alive and help preserve their memory.
What else can you do for mind - razor
-Exercise regularly. The ideal is 180 minutes of exercise per week, combining aerobic exercises (walking, jogging, swimming, cycling) with muscle-strengthening exercises (e.g. weights and resistance machines at the gym or exercises with books and water bottles at home).
-Eat healthy. Your diet should include fish, pulses, fruit, vegetables and legumes, 2 glasses of red wine a day and occasional white meat.
-Do not isolate yourself. Make sure you have an active social life with family and friends
-Do not smoke. And don't expose yourself to other people's cigarette smoke.
-Control your body weight. If you have excess weight, you need to lose it.
-If you have elevated blood pressure, cholesterol and/or blood sugar, make sure to regulate them.
Source: iatronet.gr
Rehabilitation Center Thessaloniki
September 2019
