In most cases, we see these common mental slips and think nothing of them. At times, the brain just doesn’t seem to want to engage when you ask it a question like, “What are six times three?” Not only is it a natural happening throughout life, but we also attribute it to old age – as time goes by, you tend to get a bit more forgetful. “Seniors tend to be somewhat absent-minded,” some might say and, for the most part, it’s true. Most people, who suffer brief lapses in memory or thought, are not suffering from Alzheimer’s disease but, for a select few, these very subtle signals can be just the tip of the iceberg.

Alzheimer’s disease can be much like a cat, stalking a mouse. At first, its approach is barely noticeable and easily overlooked; victims suffer minor memory lapses, where they forget details of recent events, twist things around or, sometimes forget names, faces, or directions. Math and spelling may cause the occasional pause but, generally, these ‘spells’ are short-lived in those who are in the first stages of Alzheimer’s. Making things even more difficult is the fact that Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia have no specific test that can be given to reveal their presence. In fact, the only way that a doctor can be 100% on a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, to date, is for an autopsy to be performed on the patient, after s/he has passed away. While a doctor may suspect or speculate that the diagnosis is Alzheimer’s disease, he can never be 100% sure of this. There is no test that may be performed, that will diagnose this condition.

As the condition progresses, the patient becomes more confused and their forgetfulness now begins to interfere with their daily activities and routines. The person suffering from the second stages of Alzheimer’s disease may forget to brush his teeth or will leave the house without brushing his hair. Sometimes, it can be more drastic, like the person trying to walk out of the house without clothing or heading out into the snow in their bare feet.

There are a number of steps a caregiver can take that will help both her or him as well as the loved one take this new hurdle of incontinence in a stride, and with a bit of preparation and know how, the embarrassment may be reduced and a feeling of dignity will be preserved for the patient. Here are five suggestions to make this process easier:

1. The urge to use the bathroom propels us to excuse ourselves from activities and go in search of these facilities. Unfortunately, when a loved one suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, she or he will sometimes not recognize this urge anymore. She or he may literally forget to use the bathroom prior to leaving the house or during activities. This will then result in embarrassing episodes of loss of bladder or even bowel control. Knowing that this is part and parcel of this disease, the caregiver should purchase adult incontinence products, such as adult briefs, that will help to reduce the occurrence of embarrassing public moments. Be certain that your loved ones has the products easily accessible and knows how to put them on. Similarly, it will not hurt to have a couple of spares in your purse when accompanying your loved one to go shopping or on other errands.

2. While at home, make sure that your loved has easy access to the bathroom. This means that it is only a few short steps from her or his bedroom to the bathroom, and it also means that you, as the care giver, ensure that your loved ones dresses in such a manner that clothes may be removed quickly and easily when visiting the bathroom. There are many attractive clothing options available for patients who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, and none of them have cumbersome buttons, snaps, drawstrings or zippers that make using the bathroom harder than necessary.

The earliest signs of dementia tend to be very subtle and are hard to differentiate from normal signs of aging. The most common of these is the characteristic loss of memory, which so many equate with Alzheimer‘s disease and dementia. In the first stages of this disease, it may be barely recognizable; the occasional slip of a name, getting directions twisted around, forgetting how to spell something – just little inconveniences that didn’t harm anyone. As the disease progresses, however, the signs become far more pronounced.

During the secondary stages of dementia, the forgetfulness that the patient suffered previously has become something intense enough that it interferes with day-to-day life. The patient may very well forget familiar faces of family and loved ones. Surroundings may, at times, seem strange and unsettling, and people who attempting to help are regarded with fear, anger and paranoia. Step by step, their life becomes a prison and those that love them become strange, unwilling jailers.

Along with the obvious forgetting of faces, it suddenly becomes increasingly difficult for the one suffering from dementia to perform easy tasks. Simple steps are suddenly forgotten or items misplaced, like car keys being stored in a bag of flour or the patient forgetting to put lunchmeat on their sandwich and just eating two pieces of bread with mustard in between them. Surroundings frequently warp, with the victim easily able to lose themselves even with home just around the corner, regardless of how many times they’ve taken the exact same route.

To help keep depression at bay, you must first recognize the different signs of it. If you have four or more of the following symptoms, you should go to a doctor. The first trait common among those that are entering depression is irritability. For example, little things that didn’t use to bug you are starting to. Next, the caregiver may start to feel worthless; being that besides helping people, there is very little reward in caring for someone. The caregiver may also start to feel really guilty, believing that they’re not doing enough for the patient. The caregiver’s thoughts may become decidedly darker, delving into things such as suicide. Simple motor skills will become more difficult, and sleep will not come. Insomnia is present in a few of those who are depressed. A general lethargy may come over the caregiver. Activities that previously were very pleasurable for the caregiver, such as sports, will lose all their attractiveness. The caregiver may have difficulty either thinking or concentrating. Lastly, as far as exterior changes go, the caregiver’s appetite may change dramatically, causing their weight to change.

If the caregiver has depression, they should immediately go to the doctor to figure out just what is causing the depression – it may not even be related to the Alzheimer’s victim. But then again, the depression could very well be linked. You have to know what you’re dealing with before you can fight it. Once you know what’s causing it, there are a variety of ways to treat it, which your doctor will know more about.

However, there are some things that you can do before depression strikes. These things you can do to keep yourself happy, and keep depression at bay.

To date, there is no single known cause for Alzheimer’s disease. Some studies suggest that there may be hereditary factors, while others believe it has to do with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Still others will argue that allowing one’s brain to ‘stagnate’ and not keeping it working; basically put, that the brain grows rusty from lack of use, may cause it. Some scientists even claim that recent studies indicate the damage that is done to the brain, by Alzheimer’s disease, may occur years before the patient even begins to show symptoms.

There is no real way of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease, short of an autopsy that is performed after the person passes away; only then, can the presence of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques be detected. Plaques are the clumps of protein that form outside the brain’s nerve cells, while the tangles are formed of twisted strands of other proteins which form inside the cells. Together, these two abnormalities work to disrupt the normal processes in the brain, preventing the transfer of chemicals that pass messages from nerve cell to nerve cell. While tangles and plaques are always present on the post-mortem brains of Alzheimer’s patients, scientists do not know if it’s the tangles and plaques which cause Alzheimer’s, or if it is the disease which causes the tangles and plaques.

Alzheimer’s disease involves the malfunction or death of the nerve cells, but it’s not yet known why this occurs. Scientists continue to research this, but several key risk factors have been determined, in regards to Alzheimer’s disease. By considering the risk factors, this helps us learn more about the disease and, hopefully, may suggest ways of avoiding it. The first and most well known risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease is age. Most patients don’t develop the disease until they are at least 65 years of age but, once they reach this age, the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s doubles every five years or so, after the age of 65. By the time a person is 85 years of age, there is usually a 50% chance that they will develop this disease.

The hospice philosophy simply stated is that it neither hastens nor postpones death, but rather places emphasis on quality of life, rather than length of life. Hospice supporters believe in family centered care, involving both the patient and the family in the care, rather than some doctor deciding what’s best for the patient. One of the advantages of hospice care is that it can be administered in a variety of locations, including a hospital, a nursing home, a private hospice facility, or even the patient’s home. In the vast majority of hospice in the U.S., the primary caregiver is a family member.

Hospice care is only given when medicine has done all it can do, and the life expectancy of the patient is six months or less. The patient, the patient’s family and the doctor decide when hospice should begin.

There are several different types of hospice care to be aware of. The first type is what’s more commonly known as an interdisciplinary team, which is compromised of various professionals, such as nurses, doctors, councilors, therapists and volunteers. They each specialize in a different part of caring for the patient.

Physicians diagnose possible Alzheimer’s disease based on a complete patient interview, covering personal and family medical history, combined with the results of any neurological, psychiatric, and lab tests conducted. Doctors are likely to suspect Alzheimer’s disease when a patient complains of a gradual progression of memory deterioration, and when they are unable to find any other condition that could explain the memory loss. Doctors will be looking for disorders such as depression or hypothyroidism, neurological damage caused by stroke, or any medications that may be contributing to the loss of memory. An inability to uncover any contributory illness leads to the determination that Alzheimer’s disease is possible.

Probable Alzheimer’s disease is a step beyond possible Alzheimer’s and means that a doctor is “relatively certain” that a patient has the disease. All the same criteria are met that determine possible Alzheimer’s; however, probable Alzheimer’s patients have continued to show deterioration. They have shown increased loss of memory coupled with the emergence of other impairments – their motor skills may be compromised, and their behavior may have changed. They may be unusually emotional or sometimes delusional. At this stage, patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease will usually have a difficult time with their normal daily routines. A key factor in the determination of probable Alzheimer’s disease is the gradual, yet progressive, nature of the symptoms.

In addition to the progression of neurological symptoms, doctors consider a few other factors in deciding that Alzheimer’s disease is probable. They look for a loss of neurological functioning in at least two specific areas. One should be memory loss; the other can be indicated by increased difficulty in solving problems, problems of perception or some other cognitive ability. These symptoms can be identified though various neurological tests. Patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease generally are between the ages of 40-90, though some patients with Down’s syndrome develop Alzheimer’s in the 30s.

It is important to remember, however, that some behavioral problems in patients are manageable without having to seek medication or institutionalization. This can be done by identifying behavioral triggers in patients with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia and then resolving problems through words and actions.

In some cases, identifying the source of irritation can be easy. Patients are sensitive to environmental changes, whether strong physical changes or even subtle ones. For example, a new primary caregiver or unfamiliar visitors stopping by would be large physical changes to the environment. Subtle changes might be erratic scheduling or even distracting patterns on plates and tablecloths. After identifying this specific trigger, a way to deal with the problem would be to eliminate loud distractions and maintain daily routines as much as possible. Maybe cutting down on the number of unfamiliar visitors, or providing more rest periods in between heavy activities would help reduce the stress.

Use conflict resolution when the patient is agitated or aggressive. Instead of battling the patient, let them know you are on their side. Statements of understanding and reassurance when delivered calmly can help settle the conflict. If a caregiver matches the temperament of the angry patient the situation will probably escalate. A patient with severe dementia or Alzheimer’s disease likely cannot reflect on his aggressive behavior and so is not able to control himself. Thus, chastising the patient for bad behavior will not help the situation. Be careful not to initiate physical contact during conflicts. This is known to be a negative behavioral trigger. Touching should be associated with relaxing or enjoyable activities only.

Dementia is defined as a “progressive brain dysfunction that eventually leads to the restriction of daily activities.” Symptoms of this condition include loss of memory, changes in behavior and other skill and orientation problems. Sounds like Alzheimer’s disease, some might say. So what are the differences between the two conditions?

First of all, dementia can develop in a person for a number of reasons. Forms of infection, strokes, head injuries, abuse of drugs and nutritional deficiencies can cause dementia. In addition to those, other medical diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Pick’s disease, brain tumors and even some cases of HIV or syphilis, can lead to dementia. Some diseases that cause dementia are curable, and some symptoms of dementia are least partially reversible with proper treatment.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. Studies showed that in nearly 70% of people who suffered from dementia, Alzheimer’s disease was the cause. In this disease, abnormal protein deposits in the brain destroy cells in other important areas that control memory and mental functions. People with Alzheimer’s disease also have lost some levels of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, which further affects the thinking process. This disease causes not only dementia but also a gradual intellectual deterioration and is not reversible. Despite some foolish claims to the contrary, no cure exists for Alzheimer’s disease.

Gingko Biloba – Gingko has been marketed extremely successfully as a memory aid and treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and is the most popular of the purported memory enhancing dietary supplements. The evidence of its effectiveness is conflicting, at best. Small-scale studies have shown minor memory improvement for patients taking the supplement, but other studies have shown that Gingko has no effect whatsoever on improving memory or slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s.

A recent study of 200 men and women with dementia and Alzheimer’s showed Gingko to be of no use to memory impaired patients. In the study, the participants were divided into two groups, testing for to determine their cognitive abilities, and then one group was given Gingko and the other group took a sugar pill. After 12 weeks, the testing was repeated, and then the Gingko group was divided in half again, with half of those patients now receiving a sugar pill as well. At the end of the study, it was determined that Gingko did not offer an improvement to memory, and that the amount of time a patient took the Gingko was irrelevant as well.

In addition to the lack of proof that it is effective at all, Gingko Biloba can be harmful to some patients, especially those taking blooding thinning medications, including aspirin, or antidepressants (which Alzheimer’s patients typically take). There is also no data on what is a safe dosage of Gingko.