Medical science has determined a lot of things through the years. It has discovered various diseases and its causes. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of unknowns. Doctors are unable to determine the cause of cancer, the cure for AIDS and even something that called Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s is considered to be a disorder that will affect one’s mental and physical state. It normally happens to people 65 years of age and above that can affect anyone regardless of sex.
There are seven known stages for this type of disorder and it only gets worse as time goes by.
In the first stage, the individual and those around will not notice anything wrong. The person may forget a thing or two, which everyone experiences so there is no cause for alarm yet.
During the second stage, the person may already feel something wrong as this memory lapses happen more frequently. Again, there is no need yet to be alarmed because people tend to forget things due to aging.
The third stage is the time when someone can be suspected of having this disease. The person will falter at work or be unable to accomplish some simple tasks and people will take notice of these changes.
In the fourth stage, the individual can no longer handle certain activities and will require the assistance of those around to accomplish it.
The fifth stage is what doctors describe to be moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The individual will not only forget other people but also be unable to recall certain facts about oneself. There will also be periods of disorientation.
In the sixth stage better known as moderately severe Alzheimer’s, there will already mood swings. The patient may be happy and in the next minute appear hostile to those around. There will also be fecal and urinary incontinence just like a baby who is not yet toilet trained.
The seventh and final stage is called severe Alzheimer’s. The individual will not be able to speak much and do anything anymore. The patient will probably just stare into space so there will be times that those around will have to carry and force feed to be able to stay alive.
Alzheimer’s disease happens gradually. The only thing people can do is slow down the process before it gets to the succeeding stage by using drugs and giving proper care to the patient.
As the patient’s condition gets worse, the person is no longer treated as a human being by merely as a subject with the disorder. This shouldn’t be the case given that the individual at point in life accomplished a lot of things and never wanted this to happen in the end.
There are more than four million people in the United States that are diagnosed with this disorder. This number will definitely grow in the years to come as more and more Americans will reach the retirement age.
Those who have family members who are suffering from this disease should learn about the various stages to be able to understand what the patient is going through to give the proper help.
There are books and other information on the web as well as support groups since this disease affects not only the patient but also those who have to live with it.