November 12 - US National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month

November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in the United States, but as Alzheimer’s is a global issue we at Ostrich feel everyone should be aware of the disease; what are the symptoms and how do you care for someone who is suffering from this terrible disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and classic symptoms include problems with a person’s memory, behaviour and decision making process. The disease accounts for roughly 50%-80% of all global dementia cases and is most commonly found in people aged over 65. Recent statistics from the Alzheimer’s Society have revealed that there are 650,000 people in England alone suffering from dementia with Alzheimer’s accounting for 62% of these cases.

However Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging. While the greatest risk factor of Alzheimer’s is age, around 2% of people in the UK with the disease suffer from early onset Alzheimer’s. The disease has even been diagnosed in people as young as 30!

Other factors that can lead to the development of Alzheimer’s are serious head injuries, a previous family history of the disease and lifestyle factors such as people who live alone with a lack of stimulation.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s

The early symptoms of Alzheimer’s can be easy to miss as many sufferers don’t show any notable symptoms until the latter stages. Nevertheless, early symptoms include minor memory problems like forgetting a birthday or day of the week and forgetting to say the right words when speaking.

As Alzheimer’s progresses, the symptoms become much more apparent and include disorientation, personality changes, extreme memory loss and behavioural changes. Many people in the latter stages forget things from hour to hour, can become aggressive or stubborn and others can become lost in their daily routine.

How to prevent Alzheimer’s disease

Preventing Alzheimer’s is difficult as we don’t know the reasons for its onset. However, studies have revealed that reducing your alcohol intake and quitting smoking can help. You should also eat a balanced healthy diet, have regular health checks and stay mentally active. There are a number of activities you can participate in to stay mentally active, such as social gatherings, taking up a hobby either physically or mentally and interacting regularly with friends and families.

Treatment for Alzheimer’s

Sadly there’s no cure yet for Alzheimer’s disease although GPs can prescribe drugs to help slow its progression down. If you’re caring for someone with Alzheimer’s it is imperative that a care plan is arranged to support and care for the person. This may require some patients moving into a specialised care home or nursing home while others may be able to live at home with specialised care at home services.

At Ostrich we can help you find these services and provide help in other areas. At Ostrich we list all care providers and we offer a search by need so you can look for care homes, nursing homes or care at home services that understand dementia and know how to treat and deal with patients suffering with Alzheimer’s. And if you need further advice on planning for care financially or legally we can help too.

We have also recently launched our Purple Angel Campaign which is designed to generate awareness of dementia in all its forms. If you’d like to get involved in our Purple Angel Campaign please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.