8 Myths about Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is one disease that everyone dreads to get as they grow older. This disease is claiming thousands of lives every day all over the world. People suffering from this disease start losing their memory until they remember nothing about themselves.

The worst part about this disease is that there is no cure. A lot is spoken about Alzheimer’s disease, but there are some facts that are untrue:

• Myth 1: Only old people suffer from Alzheimer’s

Most of tend to think that only people above the age of 60 suffer from the disease. But that is not true. People can start showing signs of the disease from the age as early as 20.

The number of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease below 60 years is comparatively low, but again it doesn’t mean that there won’t be an early onset of the disease.

• Myth 2: Memory loss is common part of ageing

A certain amount of memory loss is a normal part of ageing. But when you start forgetting important aspects of your daily life or like forgetfulness that affects your daily routine it is a cause of concern and could be a symptom of Alzheimer’s.

The memory loss that comes with aging is mild and usually you tend to recollect the forgotten fact at a later date. But when it comes to Alzheimer’s you will forget more important aspects such as things that you do in your daily life, and you might forget how to eat, drink or do the more basic things in life that you’re used to doing.

• Myth 3: Alzheimer’s doesn’t lead to death

Alzheimer’s is a slow killer disease. It takes time to take a toll on the patient. What starts as gradual memory loss, slowly moves on to disruption in total basic functioning of the body due to total memory loss. Patients who suffer from this disease forget to eat and also have trouble swallowing, as they have forgotten how to swallow and so they suffer from severe shortage of nutrients.

Some of the patients even suffer from breathing issues that lead to pneumonia. Basically Alzheimer’s leads to death but an early diagnosis allows us to slow down the progression of the disease.

• Myth 4: There is a test for Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease does not have any tests to diagnose it. The diagnosis can be made only by ruling out the causes of the symptoms and looking into the medical history, blood tests and neurological tests.

• Myth 5: Medications can stop Alzheimer’s disease

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Medications are available that help in the slow growth and progression of the disease.

• Myth 6: Depression causes Alzheimer’s disease

Depression does set in when a person suffers from Alzheimer’s. But the cause of depression is usually due to the loss of their functioning and memory in their daily life.

• Myth 7: Dementia is the same as Alzheimer’s

The statement, ‘All Alzheimer’s patients suffer from Dementia, but not everyone with Dementia has Alzheimer’s’ does justice to differentiate the two.

Dementia is the memory loss by changes in the brain. So, dementia can include heart patients, Alzheimer’s patients and many more.

• Myth 8: Exercise, healthy diet or dietary supplements can prevent Alzheimer’s

Exercise and a healthy diet can reduce the chances of getting the disease or the slow progression of the disease. But then again, these factors differ from person to person.

So it’s about time you stopped believing these myths related to Alzheimer’s and focus only on the facts.

Written by: Rasha Ashraf