Alzheimer's Stages and Long Term Care 

     I was reading a U.S. News and World Report article on Alzheimer’s disease and how it relates to long term care insurance.  The article discusses what to expect from a physical and psychological aspect from a person afflicted with this disease. He also talks briefly about what to expect from the fact that financial constraints in most families are forcing them to care for their loved ones at home instead of expensive nursing facilities. This can lead to caregiver burnout.
     It is helpful to understand the continuum of this tragic disease and the increasing long term care need along the way.  Understanding the process is helpful in understanding what type of care will be required.  According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are five key changes that will occur throughout the disease process:

1. Judgment: forgetting how to use household appliances, etc.
2. Sense of time and place: getting lost on one’s own street; being unable to recognize or find areas in the home.
3. Behavior: the care recipient will become easily confused, suspicious or fearful.
4. Physical ability: the person with dementia may have trouble with balance, depending upon a walker or wheelchair to get around.
5. Senses: changes in vision, hearing, sensitivity to temperatures or depth perception.
       

     Planning ahead and buying long term care insurance is one of the most simply ways to protect yourself from the potential long term care risk that’s associated with Alzheimer’s.  To learn more about long term care planning take a moment and fill in the form below and we will mail you out quotes and info from the top 5 carriers.