How to tell if your loved one is showing symptoms of Alzheimer's?

First part:

ARIZONA QUESTIONNAIRE

This test will allow you to find out if the changes in your loved one's behavior and personality are related to a serious illness or if you still have no reason to worry. The test is one of the latest developments by American specialists, it was published in 2012, and according to them, in 90 percent of cases, it helps to detect cognitive disorders at an early stage.

Answer yes or no.

1. Does your relative have memory problems?

2. If so, is the memory worse than it was a few years ago?

3. Do I repeat the same question or the same thought several times a day?

4. Forget about scheduled meetings or events?

5. Does he put things in unfamiliar places more often than once a month?

6. Does he suspect that others are hiding or stealing things from him if he cannot find them?

7. Do you often experience difficulty in trying to remember the hour, day, month, year. Does he try to remember the same date more than once a day?

8. Having trouble with orientation in an unfamiliar place?

9. Does this absent-mindedness of his increase outside the confines of the home or in public transport?

10. Does your relative have trouble doing calculations, for example counting how much he gave at the store?

11. Does he face difficulties when he has to pay for something or in other financial transactions?

12. Do I forget to take my medication? Does it happen that he can't remember if he already took the medicine?

13. Having trouble driving? Are you worried about his ability to handle driving the car?

14. Do you have difficulties using household appliances, the telephone, the remote control?

15. Does he have difficulty doing any work at home due to natural physical limitations?

16. Has he lost interest in his usual hobbies: sports in the fresh air, dancing and others, from the point of view of natural physical limitations?

17. Can he get lost in familiar territory, such as around his own home?

18. Losing your sense of direction?

19. Does your relative not only forget names but also can't remember the exact word?

20. Does he confuse the names of relatives or friends?

21. Having trouble recognizing familiar people?

Test results:

Your concerns may be justified if you marked "yes" to more than four answers. However, if you've started to notice changes in your loved one's usual behavior or memory lapses that affect the quality of your daily life, see a specialist.

Second part:

YET ANOTHER WAY TO FIND OUT THAT YOUR RELATIVE MOST LIKELY HAS MANIFESTATIONS OF THE DISEASE

In addition to the questionnaire, you can follow the recommendations of specialists who will help you suspect the onset of Alzheimer's in your relative. This is what Doctor of Medical Sciences Alexey Danilov advises - professor at the Department of Nervous Diseases at the Sechenov Moscow Medical University.

1. Offer him to calculate something - for example, the value of purchases before going to the store. Math problems start very early in Alzheimer's disease. For example, these people find it increasingly difficult to calculate the change or fill out a payment receipt, even though they were able to do it without problems before.

2. Ask him to do something as instructed. With Alzheimer's disease, a person has difficulty coping with such tasks. For example, it is extremely difficult for him to prepare a meal according to a recipe, to arrange things according to a list. Such a person has difficulty navigating on a map.

3. An alarming symptom is the frequent loss of belongings. Anyone can lose their gloves, but if today they lose them, yesterday - the umbrella, and last week - the keys, this is already a cause for concern.

4. Listen to what and how your relative describes. Sometimes elderly people easily remember childhood and adolescence, but get confused about events from yesterday. Attention should be paid to this. As well as situations when he forgot to turn off the stove, close the door, call the phone at the agreed time, etc.n.

5. Observe his manner of expression. Memory problems characteristic of Alzheimer's disease are manifested by constant repetition of the same thought. He can tell something and after only half an hour start telling it again.

6. Pay attention to whether he follows his favorite hobby. It is worrying if half a year ago, for example, he liked to play chess every day, but now he does not. Or solving crosswords, but has long since stopped wanting you to bring him new ones.

7. People suffering from Alzheimer's disease react negatively to any changes in life. This is characteristic of almost all old people, but in he althy people such changes do not cause such fear and negativity. It is also worrying if your relative shows sudden changes in mood, capriciousness, irritability, apathy - all this is a reason to turn to a neurologist.

Part Three:

A FUN MINI-TEST THAT WILL HELP YOU FIND OUT IF YOU HAVE A PREDISPOSITION TO ALZHEIMER

1. Find the letter C without using a marker

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2. If you found C, now find the number 6

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

69999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

3. Now find N. This will make it a little more difficult

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNMM

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Caution

This is not a joke. If you pass all three tests, you may not see a neurologist. Your brain is working normally and you are not at risk of Alzheimer's disease. Stay he althy!!!

Fourth part:

TRY TO CHECK THE STATUS OF YOUR OWN MEMORY!

In the table we will offer you, the most typical symptoms characteristic of age-related forgetfulness are listed. You will use six criteria: never – 0 points; rarely – 1 point, occasionally – 2 points, often – 3 points, very often – 4 points.

1. I forget phone numbers.

2. I forget where I put something.

3. I leave the book for a while, then I can't find the place I've reached.

4. I have to make a to-do list so I don't forget any of them.

5. I forget about appointments.

6. I forget what I planned to do at home.

7. I forget the names of old acquaintances.

8. It's hard for me to focus.

9. It's hard for me to retell the content of any show on TV.

10. I can't recognize familiar people.

11. It's hard for me to understand the meaning of what others are saying.

12. I quickly forget the names of people I've met.