Seven Stages of Alzheimer’s disease
Medical science has determined a lot of things about diseases 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 a condition or disease called Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s is considered to be a disorder that will affect one’s mental and physical state. It is most common in people 65 years of age and above. Alzheimer’s disease can affect anyone regardless of sex. Whether you have been sick or not, educated or not, whatever your race, or any other characteristic you name, Alzheimer’s disease knows no boundaries, and can strike and leave one in a terrible condition the remainder of their life.
Seven Stages of Alzheimer’s
There are seven known stages for Alzheimer’s type of disorder and it only gets worse as time goes by. Your doctor might consolidate the seven stages into early/middle/late or mild/moderate/severe.
Stage 1 (No Noticeable Impairment)
The individual and others won’t notice anything wrong. The person may forget a thing or two, which everyone experiences, so there is no cause for alarm yet.
During this 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. A medical exam would not reveal any problems either.
Stage 3 (Noticeable Cognitive Decline)
Now 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. A visit to the doctor might result in a diagnosis of early-stage or mild Alzheimer’s disease, but not always. Common symptoms in this stage include:
- Problems producing people’s names or the right words for objects
- Noticeable difficulty functioning in employment or social settings
- Forgetting material that has just been read
- Misplacing important objects with increasing frequency
- Decrease in planning or organizational skills
Stage 4 (Early-Stage/Mild Alzheimer’s)
In the fourth stage, the individual can no longer handle certain activities and will require the assistance of those around to accomplish it. You or your loved one may become more forgetful of recent events or personal details. Decline in cognitive abilities is more evident.