Valerie Mmanthe Mampshika,[Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and English.]
Alzheimer’s disease has taken its course on the lives of our elderly ones.Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that impairs memory and other imperative mental processes,whereby brain cell connections and the cells degenerate and die.
For most people with Alzheimer’s symptoms first appear in their 30s and mid-60s,and symptoms vary from person to person.
The disease has three distinct stages namely mild or early stage,moderate or middle stage and severe or late stage before medical professionals diagnose their potential patients.
The symptoms of Alzheimer’s include individuals forgetting basic information such as their date of birth,names of their family members,or looking for their car keys for instance.
The second symptom has to be memory difficulties in such a way that individuals are unable to remember important things in their lives,and experiencing challenges in social settings or at their workplace.
Memory loss can be elaborated as individuals forgetting the day of the week,where they are,the level of wandering off or getting lost rises,there is a transition in sleeping patterns,and it is not easy for them to choose an outfit.
In terms of independence decreasing it could be explained as emotional changes such as hallucinating(seeing things which are not present),delusions(false beliefs),and being paranoid(feeling as if other individuals are against them for some reason).
Severe symptoms can be briefly explained as individuals who do not know how to respond to an alarm or a phone ringing for instance which clearly depicts that people around them need to be their ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’,and those who surround them need to think ahead by guessing what they might need in advance by creating a new routine.
Lack of physical control refers to individuals not being able to communicate with others,and they might need assistance with walking,sitting and eventually swallowing food(they might need to be fed).
All in all,Alzheimer’s is a serious disease and family members need to support their loved ones if they experience symptoms mentioned above.
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