Alzheimers Disease & Care

Caring for a loved one with alzheimers disease can be a trying time for the person that is their full time caregiver.  Whilst much good publicity has had the positive effect of raising alzheimers awareness, the burder of care often falls on the family although many residential care homes offer care for sufferers.

Is there any help for Alzheimers caregivers?

Support groups can be helpful in removing the feeling of being isolated.  Ask around what is available locally, check out the the National Association for any advice they can give you on coping and hopefully can put you in touch with some caregivers support groups.

Symptoms of Alzheimers

The most striking early symptom is short term memory loss which usually manifests as minor forgetfulness that becomes steadily more pronounced as the illness progresses.  Surprisingly, long term memories are often retained.

In the initial stages of the disease, patients can tend to be less energetic or spontaneous, though this small behavioural change often goes unnoticed by those around them.

As the disease progresses, the sufferer may need more help to perform complicated tasks.  In it's final stages, the sufferer will need care given at all times to enable them to perform the most simple of tasks.

Alzheimers Disease and Prevention

Although it's not clear what causes Alzheimer's, research has shown that the following will reduce the risk of the disease:-

• keeping mentally active - for example, playing chess or doing the Sunday crossword
• keeping fit and having regular exercise
• getting out and about - chatting and interacting with family and friends
• a healthy diet -low in fat and supplements with B vitamins, Omega 3, Vitamin E

Don't live in ignorance of what can be done about this debilitating disease - find out what you can do to minimise your risk and prevent further deterioration in sufferers.

Useful Resources

Natural Treatment - this young researcher claims to have found an all natural treatment that can stop the symptoms of Alzheimer's in their tracks.  He believes that finding a cure is not in the interests of the big drug companies and has written a book on treating and curing the disease

Plain Talk about Alzheimer's - a layman's guide to the disease.  Find out what causes it, what are the risk factors, warning signs and symptoms, how is it diagnosed and treated.  What is the impact on the individual and their family and how you can plan ahead.  What research is being done and who does the latest research show?

Living with Alzheimer's - learn which drugs are most commonly used for treatment, how you can learn to cope and live with it, research on herbal remedies that may help prevent or reduce memory loss

Improving your Memory - book review of "Triple Your Memory"