Everyone experiences memory loss now and again, but when it happens to your senior family member, she might worry that it means something big and bad. The worst isn’t always the answer, though, because sometimes memory loss has a different cause.
Underlying Health Issues
The body is a complex system and as such, everything works together. But it can also start to misfire together, too. Some health issues, like kidney disease, can cause memory loss and difficulty thinking clearly. A lack of appetite can keep the brain from getting nutrients that it needs to keep firing well. All of these issues can work together to give her the occasional memory blip.
Medications and Side Effects
Medications are a common answer to memory issues, too. They tend to have side effects and, if your aging family member takes quite a few medications, those side effects can add up significantly. This can happen even with medications that your senior has taken for a long time, too. It’s worth the time to talk to your senior’s doctor a couple of times a year about reviewing her medications and how they work together.
Emotions, Stress, and Loneliness
Emotions and emotional responses can do a big number on the brain. If your elderly family member is stressed, upset, or sad, that can all cause her brain to process information differently than it would when she’s emotionally in a better place. Likewise, loneliness can have a big impact on your senior’s brain. Helping her to get the companionship that she needs is one answer. Home care services providers are an excellent choice because they are so experienced in helping aging adults.
Cognitive Impairment
Of course the big concern for any aging adult when they start to experience even a little bit of memory loss is that mild cognitive impairment is to blame. This also leads to worries about Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions. Talk to your elderly family member’s doctor about her concerns. Her can do some testing to see what’s really going on and put her mind at ease.
Any time that your senior is having memory issues, even minor ones, it’s a good idea to talk it over with her doctor. From there you can work to figure out what the cause is and get a plan in place. In many situations, the memory loss is either reversible or it’s something that your elderly family member can work on with brain exercises.
