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Yes, Alzheimer's is a disease for the elders of the family. A progressive form of dementia that could disrupt the daily life, the patients have to be told that they forgot to carry out certain tasks. Experts say that Alzheimer's declines with old age and hampers the ability to perform daily tasks seamlessly. It is believed that more than 4 million Indians have some form of dementia. And the number is 44 million worldwide for people living with dementia. Here are 5 signs of Alzheimer's you must watch out for.
Memory loss: Yes, it's true that we all forget things. And while it's normal to be slightly forgetful with old age, they recall the tasks later. However, it's never the case with Alzheimer's. The early sign could be forgetting more than normal. Repetitive questions and frequent reminders to do basic things and forgetting recently-learned information are the signs you shouldn't ignore.
Vision loss: While it's normal for old age people to start losing vision, the inability to process distance or differentiate between the colours can be an early onset of AD. According to the Alzheimer's Association, for some people vision problems could be a sign of the disease.
Problems with words: If you are seeing your old age grandparents finding it difficult to join sentences and find the right words for things, then you might want to take them to the doctor. As an early sign, they may also have a problem with continuing a sentence and might repeat things several times. Experts believe that since the disease only occurs during old age, a lot of people ignore the subtle signs. It's the most common reason why Alzheimer's go undetected in the initial stages.
Withdrawal from social activities: According to the Alzheimer's Association, people who have signs of Alzheimer's withdraw themselves from social activities or hobbies they used to enjoy. According to experts, since most of symptoms are attributed to old age, family members tend to ignore the elders who are showing the signs, thus leading them to withdraw from social activities.
Difficulty completing familiar tasks: People who suffer from Alzheimer's or are at the onset of the disease can see their activities of daily living getting affected. You will notice them forgetting to do certain tasks completely, and more so of those normal daily life tasks that they have been doing all their life. Experts say that for the person suffering, memories from the past remains fresh, but they generally forget the daily life functions.