10 Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease

Today, Alzheimer's disease, a brain disease that affects 5% of people over 65, 20% of those over 80, and 30% of those over 90, is commonly referred to as dementia. This disease causes progressively worsening losses in all cognitive functions of the brain, especially memory, and is among the most common types of dementia. When we think of Alzheimer's symptoms, the first thing that comes to mind is forgetfulness. However, it should not be confused with the occasional forgetfulness that everyone experiences in daily life. The forgetfulness of individuals diagnosed with this disease, for which no treatment has yet been found, reaches a level that negatively affects their daily lives over time.

10 Alzheimer Symptoms

1. Personality Changes

While forgetfulness is the first symptom that comes to mind with Alzheimer's disease, there are views that the first signals of the disease are changes in personality. These can manifest as the person's behavior and reactions being different from what is known. For example, a person may quickly transition from calmness to anger without any apparent reason, or a socially active individual may begin to withdraw from social environments. A generous person may turn into a stingy one.

2. Forgetfulness Disrupting Daily Life

Forgetting plans related to very recent events; forgetting appointments, meetings, or to buy something from the market.

3. Delays in Work and Tasks

The individual may start to struggle with tasks and responsibilities that they previously handled without issues; having difficulty remembering how to use items, experiencing confusion regarding the organization of the home.

4. Difficulty in Planning and Calculating

Struggling to arrange the order and duration of daily tasks, forgetting to pay bills, or forgetting the recipe for a meal that is usually made easily or the making of a craft example.

5. Confusion About Times and Places

Not being able to find the workplace, a regularly visited market, or a mosque, mixing up the rooms in the house, the time of day, and the days and months.

6. Putting Items in Wrong Places and Forgetting This, Blaming Others

Behaviors such as putting fruits that should be placed in the refrigerator into the wardrobe. Additionally, the patient may blame their relatives for losing or stealing items that have been placed in the wrong location.

7. Avoiding Activities That Were Always Done, Becoming Inactive

The individual may lose interest in topics they were always engaged with, avoid activities they regularly participated in, spend time watching television for hours, or start sleeping longer than usual.

8. Problems with Judgment and Decision Making

Spending a lot of time making decisions that were previously made without difficulty, being unable to decide, or making unusual, strange decisions.

9. Not Dressing According to Weather Conditions

Wearing thin clothes in cold weather or wearing winter clothes in hot weather is also among the Alzheimer symptoms.

10. Problems with Speaking and Understanding

Alzheimer's patients may start to speak using fewer words than before and have difficulty finding appropriate words for what they want to say. Sometimes they may try to construct a sentence describing a word they cannot remember. (For example, saying "the thing that fixes my hair" for a comb.)

Alzheimer's Patients Do Not Accept That They Are Forgetful

A person may occasionally forget who they met on the street and greeted, where they put their wallet, or what day of the week it is. The forgetfulness of Alzheimer's patients is different; it can cause serious disruptions in their daily lives. Additionally, under normal circumstances, a person is aware of their forgetfulness and expresses it in an anxious or mocking manner. However, an Alzheimer's patient may deny this situation and blame those who point out their forgetfulness.

Processes of Alzheimer's Disease

The early symptoms of the disease are mild and are generally not emphasized. These can be listed as a more advanced level of forgetfulness than usual, fatigue, decision-making problems, changes in social behavior, and difficulty remembering words or making decisions.

The symptoms in the middle stage are at a level that prevents the continuation of daily activities. Restlessness, paranoia, aggressive or hostile behaviors towards others, motor skill impairments, significant deterioration in social relationships, and instances of getting lost are observed.

In the advanced stage of Alzheimer disease, the individual becomes someone in need of care. Problems such as emotional disturbances that negatively affect the person's relationships with their family and close and distant acquaintances, constant wandering, difficulty in speaking or performing simple tasks, seeing dreams, and inability to control the bladder and bowels are observed.

What Can We Do to Avoid or Delay Alzheimer's Disease?

Age is cited as the biggest risk factor for the disease. Alzheimer’s begins to show symptoms from the age of 60, and when age exceeds 65, the incidence rate doubles every 5 years. After the age of 80, this rate can rise to 50%.

To protect against Alzheimer's, it is essential to be physically active. Regularly engaging in age-appropriate physical exercises both delays the progression of the disease and reduces the deterioration in the condition of those who have already contracted the disease. Exercise also positively affects brain health and helps people think more broadly and positively; therefore, it is very important.

Engaging in a hobby, trying to acquire new skills, learning new things, and reading books also helps in protecting against this disease. Additionally, walking outdoors and participating in other activities, keeping social life vibrant, playing games that challenge the brain and encourage thinking, doing something outside of the daily routine during the day, not smoking, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, and paying attention to resting and getting enough sleep are necessary. There are also views that Alzheimer's is related to stress, so individuals are advised to try to eliminate or reduce stressors in their lives.

It should also be noted that the level of education is related to Alzheimer's. Research shows that the incidence of the disease is lower in individuals with a higher level of education.