Alzheimer's disease is a serious and progressive condition. The disease is characterized by personality changes, memory problems. As the pathology develops, it ultimately leads to complete incapacity. But the sooner a person turns to doctors, the higher the chance to slow down the progress of the disease. By what signs can the early stage of pathology be determined?
Changes in the emotional background. At an early stage of the disease, a person's mood begins to "jump" very strongly, and the tendency to apathy and negativism increases. The patient becomes touchy, depressed, irritable, suspicious. In some cases, the expression of emotion can look faked.
Loss of interest. When Alzheimer's disease begins to develop, a typical basic symptom is the loss of interest of the sick person in life, in people around, in hobbies and hobbies, in himself. Low mood additionally affects the desire to do something. A person who begins to develop this pathology does not care how he looks, how his favorite football team played, and so on.
Memory problems. Typically, in the early stages, Alzheimer's is characterized by problems with short-term memory. A sick person can remember in detail the events that happened ten years ago, but cannot remember where he put the keys to the house. Difficulties appear in memorizing new information, a sick person begins to ask to repeat the same thing several times, a tendency to write down all deeds and thoughts develops.
Refusal to socialize. An early symptom of Alzheimer's disease is a person's desire to close off from the outside world, the desire for loneliness. In this case, the patient can find a variety of excuses for his behavior. For example, refer to a headache and therefore refuse to talk to friends on the phone. Or say that he has absolutely nothing to wear, because he will not go to a meeting with his comrades.
Difficulties in the perception of information. The problem of learning something new is typical for the elderly. With Alzheimer's disease, already in the early stages, it becomes difficult for a person not only to learn, but even to simply read books or keep records. Additionally, motivation decreases, inspiration goes away, and an increased tendency to idleness appears.
Changes to the daily routine. Sleep disturbances are among the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. A person can start sleeping more than 9 hours a day, while still constantly experiencing weakness, loss of strength, fatigue. Even after a long rest, the patient usually complains of lethargy, fog in the head and refers to the need to lie down. At the same time, night sleep can suffer. Often, in the early stages of the disease, a person often has nightmares; in the dark, sleep becomes restless, intermittent and superficial.
Delusional ideas. Already at the initial stage of development, Alzheimer's disease is accompanied by such a symptom as inadequate and strange ideas. The patient may claim that he is being watched, or declare that some kind of conspiracy is being prepared against him at home. A person can be sure that if you put a cup on the edge of the table, it will definitely fall, even if no one touches it.
Decreased sensitivity to pain. Experts note that a clear sign of the development of pathology is the dulling ability to feel pain. A person who begins to develop Alzheimer's disease may not seek help or take pain relievers for a long time when they feel any discomfort in their body. Despite suspiciousness, the patient usually does not focus on his health. Personal hygiene also suffers from this.
What else can be the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease?
- Tendency to vagrancy, desire to leave home.
- The onset of allergies and the appearance of skin diseases.
- Changing eating habits. A person with Alzheimer's disease may start to eat little, talk about the fact that he has absolutely no appetite.
- The tendency to constantly shift objects from place to place.
- Stereotypes (constant repetition of any actions, movements, phrases).
- Increased anxiety, motor agitation, or pronounced anxiety for no good reason.
- Speech problems. A person may inappropriately express some strange or stupid ideas, forget the names of objects, replacing them in speech with something else.
- Inability to navigate normally in space and time. In the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, a person can constantly confuse the time on the clock, poorly navigate the street.
- Drastic changes in character. For men with Alzheimer's disease, outbursts of anger and aggression are considered typical, followed by irritation and then apathy.
- Difficulty performing familiar and familiar actions. In the early stages of the disease, it becomes difficult for a person to clean the apartment, deal with other household issues, take care of pets, and so on.
