10 Signs & Symptoms of Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s is a brain disease that leads to gradual decline in memory, thinking and reasoning skills. Here are 10 early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease that you must be aware of. In case you notice any of these, do not ignore and schedule an appointment with your doctor at the soonest.

• Difficulty in remembering things

Forgetting recently learned information is one of the most common early signs of Alzheimer’s. Similar other signs include asking the same question again and again, forgetting important dates and the increased need to rely on family members and/or memory aids, such as reminder notes and electronic devices, for handling own things.  

• Difficulty in solving problems

Finding difficulty to follow plan or work with numbers due to dementia is a common sign amongst Alzheimer’s patient. They have trouble in concentrating and following a pattern to solve daily problem like trouble following a familiar recipe or keeping track of monthly bills.

• Difficulty in completion of familiar tasks

Alzheimer’s patients often find it difficult to complete daily tasks. They often face difficulty in doing familiar tasks such as locating a familiar place, organising cloths, remembering rules of a common game and the like.

• Extreme confusion

Another common sign of Alzheimer’s is confusion with place and time. Alzheimer’s patients loose track of dates, seasons and the passage of time. Understanding the current situation immediately becomes a huge trouble. They sometimes lose track of where they are, whom they are with and how they have reached there.

• Loss of visual apprehension

Problem judging distance and determining colour or contrast is the sign for diminishing visual apprehension in Alzheimer’s patients. This often leads to difficulty in reading, driving and even issues with balancing objects.

• Struggle with vocabulary

Alzheimer’s patients find it difficult to follow or join conversation. They are spotted to stop in between a conversation, finding it difficult to understand how to continue with it, which word to use and how to frame the sentence. They often name a familiar object in a wrong way.

• Loss of retracing ability

Tracking self-placed items back is a major difficulty for a person living with Alzheimer’s disease. They may put things in unusual places and lose them finding it difficult to retrace them. Patients often become helpless and blame others of stealing, especially as the disease progresses.

• Poor judgement and inconvenience in decision making

People with Alzheimer’s often experience poor decision-making ability. This impairs their ability to correctly deal in money related situations like purchasing items. It is often seen that these individuals pay less attention to grooming or keeping themselves clean.

• Poor social inclusion and disinterest towards work

Withdrawal from hobbies, social activities, work, family gathering or other engagements is a common sign in a person living with Alzheimer’s disease. This is due to their inability to hold or follow a conversation.

•  Mood fluctuation and personality changes

Abrupt mood fluctuations and personality changes are a common sign in Alzheimer’s patients. Confusion, suspicion, depression, fear and anxiousness causes major changes in the overall personality of the individual.

In case you have any Neurology related queries, feel free to contact our experts at Vasundhara Hospital.

Medically Reviewed By:

After MBBS and 3 years of experience in MD Medicines he has developed the immense interest towards enhancement care for Neurological disorders in patients & that’s companionate approach has made Dr. Arvind Lakesar to accomplish DM in Neurology from S.N. Medical College, Jodhpur.