Diagnosing Alzheimer's

How do medical practitioners go about diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease? And do we need to worry about those momentary lapses of memory as we get older? Is forgetting the occasional name or what we went to the other room for an early sign of Alzheimer's or just part of growing older?

And sometimes we become absent minded. We forget names, we might have trouble thinking of the right word in a conversation or we might forget where we put things. So what is normal and what are early signs of Alzheimer's or other dementias?

Early Signs Of Alzheimer's Disease

There are early signs of Alzheimer's to be aware of. There's loss of memory, trouble with everyday tasks, getting lost, mood swings, and impaired judgment.

Classic symptoms include forgetting recent events and names of people the sufferer knows well. Solving a maths problem or puzzle can become too difficult.

Symptoms become worse until eventually family and friends realize something is seriously wrong. The person themselves can still be in complete denial at this stage which makes it hard to encourage them to get professional help.

Eventually the problems become so bad that they affect the person's daily living. They become so ill they cannot look after themselves. Even basic everyday things like tying their shoelaces or cleaning their teeth can be too difficult.

The Importance Of Diagnosing Alzheimer's Early

If a person does have difficulty thinking, remembering, and learning, or is showing changes in their personality it is important that they have a thorough examination because it is critically important to diagnose Alzheimer's disease as early as possible. Doctors have no cure for the disease, but medications can slow the disease down if they are used early enough. They are not as effective in the later stages.

Unfortunately most sufferers are diagnosed on average four years after they get AD and their brains have already had a lot of damage done to them.

Next: Diagnosing Alzheimers - The Medical Tests