An elderly person loses his memory: what to do? What should older people take for forgetfulness, to improve memory, how to train memory?

1. What is senile sclerosis
2. Poor memory and failures in older people: manifestations and treatment
3. Types of failures
4. Types of amnesia
5. Characteristic symptoms
6. How to treat memory loss and deterioration in older people
7. Prevention

Aging cannot be reversed; it is a phenomenon that every person will have to go through. It is important to know in advance what memory loss is in older people, what this disease is called and, most importantly, how to treat it. It is easier to cope with any complexity when everything is known about it. There are various remedies that will help restore mental clarity and normal brain activity. It is impossible to completely prevent change, but it is quite possible to slow down the process.

What is senile sclerosis

For anyone, the ability to memorize information and remember something is necessary. Personal integrity, mental state and interaction with the outside world depend on this. Therefore, such disorders negatively affect mood and health.

More than 20% of all older adults over 70 years of age have trouble remembering new things, mastering skills, and retaining what they've learned.

Usually this disease is amnesia. It is she who deprives many of a full life and makes them doubt their capabilities. The disease can be of two types:

• partial;
• complete.

If a person has completely lost his memories, then even with the right therapy there is no guarantee that at least some of them will return. Along with this, frequent impairments and loss of some memory in old age are considered a common occurrence. In this case, everything disappears from the mind in fragments, pieces that the sick person himself, and sometimes his relatives, often do not notice.

In everyday life, a condition when a middle-aged man or woman cannot remember certain things or events familiar to him is called senile sclerosis. It is associated with changes in blood flow and narrowing of blood vessels in the brain. Sometimes this is directly related to a lack of blood circulation, when restored, the activity of the head returns.

Treatment

For some reason, many people think that since senile sclerosis is a completely natural phenomenon, it is not necessary to treat it. Why, they say, if over time memory loss progresses and only becomes more obvious? This is a dangerous misconception. Despite the fact that age-related changes in the body are natural and cannot be stopped, it is still possible to slow them down. With adequate treatment and compliance with all medical recommendations, the patient’s condition improves significantly and the development of amnesia is not observed in the future.

Medication

First of all, elderly people with memory loss are prescribed therapy for the underlying diseases that caused the amnesia. Most often prescribed are ganlioblockers for hypertension, decongestants and sedatives.

At the same time, it is recommended to take medications that improve cerebral circulation. Such drugs are called neuroprotectors (cerebroprotectors). They adapt brain cells to age-related changes, saturate them with oxygen, and they gradually, if not restored, then begin to function more fully than before treatment.

More often than others, the elderly are prescribed the following pills for memory loss.

Nootropics

They activate metabolic processes in nervous tissues, help with mental disorders, slow down aging, prolong life, and accelerate memory. These are Piracetam, Cerebrolysin, Semax, Ceraxon, Picamilon.

Antioxidants

They block the action of free radicals, renew and heal tissues, strengthen cell resistance to hypoxia, and eliminate oxygen deficiency. These are Mexidol, Emoxipin, Glycine, Glutamic acid, Compalamine.

Medicines for blood vessels

Vascular medications form the basis of treatment for memory loss. They come in several types:

• anticoagulants improve blood quality: Gepatrombin, Mrakumar, Tromexan, Dipaxin;
• antiplatelet agents normalize cerebrovascular accidents, especially after stroke and ischemia: Kurantin, Agrostat, Integrilin;
• Vasodilators eliminate hypoxia, act selectively, directing blood flow specifically to the damaged area of ​​the brain: Apressin, Molcidomin;
• Calcium antagonists specifically work only with the vessels of the brain and heart: Nifedipine, Felodipine, Amlodipine, Cilnidipine.

Combined neuroprotectors

They simultaneously have cerebroprotective, nootropic, antihypoxic, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective and immunomodulatory properties: Thioceam, Physam.

Adaptogens

They force the body to resist hostile factors, including age-related changes. These are multivitamin complexes and tonic herbal preparations.

Procedural

To restore memory, older people are advised to work with a psychologist as part of treatment. This could be hypnosis or cognitive psychotherapy. Trainings are no longer conducted at this age. But there are plenty of special exercises and gymnastics for the brain.

Physiotherapy procedures that improve blood circulation are also prescribed: massage and electrophoresis.

Specially selected exercise therapy solves several problems at once: improves blood circulation, activates brain and motor activity, increases endurance and other physical indicators, and helps to develop self-care skills.

Poor memory and failures in older people: manifestations and treatment

With age, all internal organs and systems gradually wear out and slow down. Metabolism and tissue regeneration slow down, cells lose their plasticity. Neural connections also become less strong, so the ability to remember information and apply new knowledge deteriorates.

At first, you can’t remember how to cope with new technology - use the phone and computer. Then the disease progresses and begins to affect old skills - one forgets how to use a meat grinder or other familiar item purchased 10 years ago. Basic skills disappear, including the ability to hold and use a pen for its intended purpose.

It is important to start taking medications for memory loss and multiple sclerosis on time for an elderly person. An integrated approach has a positive effect and prevents the progression of the disease. But you cannot prescribe medications to yourself or a loved one; this should be done by a doctor after an examination.

There are several reasons for the deterioration:

• skull and brain injuries;
• tumors;
• hypoxia due to heart problems;
• constantly high blood pressure;
• stroke accompanied by changes in blood circulation;
• infectious diseases;
• disruptions in the functioning of the nervous system;
• sedentary life;
• consequences of long-term chemical therapy;
• tobacco, alcohol and drugs;
• Alzheimer's disease;
• unstable metabolism and sleep.

These are not the only reasons that lead to memory impairment and loss in old age. This can be caused by diabetes mellitus, paranoid schizophrenia, and even just poor nutrition.

A pensioner should not be allowed to feel unnecessary, remain alone for a long time, or constantly experience stress. If he withdraws into himself and gets overexcited, living alone, problems will not be long in coming.

But it’s worth mentioning separately about the situation when he performs some moments automatically. If these are regular repeating algorithms - woke up, made the bed, brushed his teeth - then he may not remember them.

Leave a request for selection of a boarding house

for an elderly person with memory loss

Why memory is lost in older people - reasons

It mostly starts after 50 years of age and peaks at 65-70 years of age. Age-related changes make it difficult to remember dates, your own actions, and conversations. But we cannot assume that this is a normal process. If a pensioner has any symptoms, he needs to seek help.

The ability to remember deteriorates mainly due to:

• sudden hemorrhages, sometimes microscopic;
• vessels that lose elasticity;
• serious disorders in the head.

This may be due to hormonal changes or an infectious disease, a very slow metabolism and frequent stress.

It is important to understand that there are medications available to restore memory and improve brain function in older adults. If rehabilitation is started in a timely manner, the development of disorders can be minimized.

The first symptoms for which treatment should be started

The most risky thing is when a man or woman goes to the store to buy bread and is unable to get home. This can happen at any age for various reasons. A person who has forgotten his address begins to get nervous and aggravates the problem - he cannot figure out where he is, what his name is, how old he is.

Short-term episodes when a person forgets for several hours what happened yesterday. This is not so dangerous, but it still requires taking medications that improve memory in the elderly.

Some of the first serious symptoms include:

• changes in handwriting;
• disturbances in speech and phrase construction;
• increased blood pressure, moral tension while performing familiar and simple actions;
• constant forgetfulness, especially regarding promises;
• attention to communication, music, films, information is lost;
• interests become much smaller;
• a sick person quickly gets tired and irritated, tenses up for no apparent reason and becomes angry.

If one or more situations are repeated in life over the past 5 months, then you need to think about treatment. You should contact a specialist who knows what special medications, drugs and other means to improve the memory of older people should be used. See also: Symptoms of a heart attack: how the first signs of the disease appear

Causes of amnesia in young people

You can often hear stories about how a young, healthy man left the house in home clothes and slippers and did not return. What happened, why did the man get lost?

The young man could have been attacked by bandits, asking for a light, or hit on the head with brass knuckles or a stone. After an injury, all memories may disappear from the head. Even minor concussions cause short-term forgetfulness. But soon the memories will be restored and the victim will return home.

After a stroke, people of working age experience:

• dizziness;
• severe pain in the head;
• memory loss;
• blurred vision;
• sensory disturbance;
• partial or complete paralysis;
• loss of balance;
• the smile becomes asymmetrical;
• difficult to speak the language.

After drinking alcohol the night before, it may be impossible to remember what happened after drinking. It is difficult to determine a dangerous dose. It all depends on the person’s well-being, weight, gender and what he ate before drinking. Alcohol, drunk on an empty stomach, is absorbed instantly and has a strong toxic effect.

Recently, more and more often there are people who have lost their memory of who they are, what food and people are, for no apparent reason, between the ages of 17 and 60 years. Once in the hospital, they remain “zombies” for a long time and learn all life skills again.

Scientists suggest that these people are influenced by an external influence. A person without memory can be used as an unpaid worker, an executive killer. Memory may not return to such people at all or after a long time.

Often “zombies” do not remember who they are, but retain their professional skills. This leads scientists to believe that they were used as intellectual slaves. Relatives must look for their loved ones and help them return to normal life.

Types of failures

Senile forgetfulness is not a condition that can be ignored. There are criteria by which the disease can be classified:

• by speed - sudden and gradual;
• in terms of coverage – selective and global;
• for events that are forgotten - retrograde (when new knowledge is not absorbed) and anterograde (when it is impossible to remember what was always known);
• by time - short-term and long-term;
• by prevalence - complete and partial.

The visual variety is taken into account separately, when an elderly person loses memory of faces and does not know what to do. He does not recognize relatives and friends, gets nervous and forgets faces. This aggravates the condition and plunges the patient into constant stress and tension. This can lead to nervous exhaustion and rapid development of the disease. Sometimes amnesia provokes depression, hatred of others and other negative processes.

Therefore, you often have to look for a boarding house in which a pensioner will feel comfortable. Comfortable houses of the “Zabota” boarding house network are at your service. There are medical staff and a suitable social circle.

What is the name of the disease memory loss in the elderly?

Sclerosis, short-term clouding of the mind - they can be determined by a doctor who needs to be observed after overcoming the 65-year mark. If you cannot visit regularly, you should contact us at the first unpleasant symptoms and at the very beginning of forgetfulness. At particular risk are those who live separately, when there are no relatives or they live very far away and rarely visit.

Psychological causes of problems

Memory problems do not always provoke physical illnesses. When a retiree becomes lonely, he loses important social skills and feels unwanted and useless. This destroys his personality. Every day the same procedures and actions are repeated, it becomes automatic and fades because these are insignificant events.

In addition, the following can provoke amnesia:

• emotional turmoil;
• negative news;
• constant stress;
• mental illnesses;
• depression;
• intellectual tension;
• depressed state.

Therefore, if an elderly spouse dies in a married couple, then medications that improve memory in older people, such as pills for sclerosis and other memory problems, cannot be avoided. Living alone after a long marriage almost always leads to a sharp deterioration in health. You can't leave a person alone. He should be taken into his home and family or placed in a boarding house, where he will be helped to feel like part of a team.

How to train memory for older people: exercises

The main exercise is physical activity

It is important to understand that cognitive abilities - the ability to think, think - depend on cerebral circulation. And here memory training is to preserve and maintain it at the proper level. Everyone over 50, the elderly and pensioners need physical activity like air.

But there is one catch: you get tired quickly, you are too lazy to move, play sports or even simple physical exercises. And, since you are a sedentary elderly pensioner, you do not pump blood through the veins and arteries, then the body continues to be clogged with toxins formed as a result of the body’s vital activity, which causes laziness and apathy.

A cycle from which it is difficult to escape without incredible events that push you to action. But this can be either a sharp deterioration in health or a meeting with cheerful friends who will pull you back to youth and health.

Exercise 1 - Hands in the mirror

We place a sheet of paper in front of us and draw mirror images with both hands.

Right hand circle and left hand circle. Then a square, a triangle and other shapes. First small, then bigger. If it works, we draw asymmetrical figures - a cloud, a cup with a handle, a flower, etc. This won’t work right away, so you can just take the picture and trace its contours with your left and right hands at the same time. The most difficult thing is to draw different shapes with different hands at the same time. But not every young person with a strong memory can do this. But we can and should strive for this. This is an exercise to keep both hemispheres of the brain in harmony.

Exercise 2 - Grandmothers on the bench. To train memory and creative thinking

— My wife has a very terrible memory! - What, he doesn’t remember anything? - No... She remembers everything!

Just remember the person you saw who passed by you. Try to mentally compose his portrait. Describe his appearance, what he is wearing, what shoes he is wearing, what he is carrying in his hands. What kind of gait does he have? Continue inventing, inventing what is also useful - where it comes from and where it goes, why. This exercise develops not only observation, but also imagination.

Exercise 3 - Writing an Exposition

Do you remember how it was at school during Russian language lessons?

After listening to a short program or news on radio or television, write a short summary of what you heard. You can do it to yourself, but to train your memory it’s better on paper. In this case we need:

• understand and remember the text you hear, determine its main idea
• preserve and convey the author's style and speech stylistics as accurately as possible
• accurately convey details and facts, if they are in the text
• accurately remember phrases important for understanding the text, write them in the correct logical sequence
• present the text in the correct sequence, with a complete beginning and ending

Exercise 4 - Breaking Habits

We do many things on “autopilot”, without thinking, and therefore without putting any strain on the brain.

Try to “wake up”, do your usual actions in a new way, put your clothes in a different place before going to bed, brush your teeth with your left hand, walk around the city on new routes. Do something with your eyes closed: wash the dishes, fold clothes in a pile in the closet, look for keys in a drawer with small items, drink tea or coffee with buns or cookies.

Exercise 5 - Making the Visible Image Meaningful

You are accustomed to attributing certain familiar properties to each object. What if you confuse your brain with such a simple task. Each word is highlighted in its own color. Look at the text and say out loud the color it is written in. Slowly at first, and then as quickly as you can. Read forward, backward, out of order. red blue green black blue blue white blue red brown red green blue black white yellow brown green blue red blue yellow The left hemisphere of the brain specializes in text and speech. The right one is on information processing. When you try to disabuse your brain of the confusion between what you see and what you read, weakened connections between neurons are restored and brain function is restored. Try again:

Exercise 6 - Memorizing a List

This exercise is suitable for memorizing a list of both related and unrelated objects, things, and phenomena. Each item is given an action that connects it with another item, and the entire chain from the list is described in this way. There are special simulators for this. Here's an example of what one of them looks like.

You are shown a list of words, one at a time, for a few seconds, during which time you come up with a story with them that you can easily remember. For example: I looked up the classroom and saw the exit. Having flown into it, I found myself in front of the entrance and a drop fell on my head from a pipe held by the president, the leader of the circle... etc. and so on. Rave! You say. This is true! But it is he who is remembered. You can check. Otherwise, such a method of remembering information from a list of words would not exist.

Exercise 7 - Learning poetry

If you haven't read poetry for a long time, you'll definitely like it. This improves memory and attention, and awakens interest in creativity. It will be nice to sit with a book in a cozy chair, turning over the pages of the book.

Exercise 8 - Playing musical instruments

Of course, if you already knew how to play the guitar or accordion, then everything is simple. Remember the old tunes. And if you didn’t know how, then at least play the spoons, but not too loudly. In any case, the brain will work better.

Exercise 9 - Positive Thinking

As they get older, many people begin to grumble and grumble. “The youth of today have gone the wrong way”... As soon as you want to criticize something or someone, pull yourself by the sleeve and stop. With a positive attitude, your mood and blood circulation improve. And with them the work of the brain. You can put a rubber band on your wrist and flick it on your skin. The unpleasant sensations associated with this will wean you from constant criticism.

Exercise 10 - Development of fine motor skills of the fingers

It can be easily done in any environment - at home, at work, in transport. To get started, just take a small stick, a simple fountain pen or pencil and rotate it between your fingers. It will be hard for your fingers, they will not obey, they will move the stick in the wrong direction you want. She will twitch, tremble and fall to the floor. Or maybe everything will be fine from the very beginning. In any case, there will be a positive development of fine motor skills, which will have a beneficial effect on the development of both hemispheres of the brain. It is better to perform with a less developed hand and pay more attention to it. Then you can do this task with both hands at once. At the end, use two chopsticks in one hand at the same time. The stick needs to be fixed in certain positions and squeezed with your hand, massaging your fingertips, which also stimulates blood circulation in the brain, although you are stretching your fingers and not your head.

Types of amnesia

There are several of them, but only a doctor can determine the specific variety:

• Regressive or short-term. Sometimes memories fade and reappear, but some may be gone forever.
• Progressive. Usually, recent events disappear first, then what happened before is gradually forgotten. It is impossible to assimilate new data. The most enduring fragments emerge from the past, usually from youth.
• Stationary. Most often, it is an irreversible process when pictures from the past are erased from life forever and are practically not restored.
• Fixation. With it, people become absolutely helpless - they are unable to remember anything that happens. They cannot answer whether the gas in the kitchen was turned off or the door was locked. It is dangerous for them to live on their own.
• Pseudo-reminiscence. A severe form, when instead of lost memories a person unconsciously invents new ones, distorts facts to fill in the gaps.

Sometimes there is nothing to worry about, but in other cases only a good doctor can help.

When to see a doctor

Memory lapses, the causes of which in young people are mental or physiological abnormalities, are a serious symptom that requires attention at the first manifestation.

If memory lapses occur, the patient should consult a neurologist or psychotherapist as soon as possible. It is also necessary to pay attention to the accompanying symptoms that occur with almost all types of memory loss:

• sleep pattern disorder;
• increased sweating;
• sudden mood swings;
• changes in movement coordination.

To determine the patient’s condition, it is also necessary to be able to distinguish between types of memory loss depending on the degree of memorization and skills lost as a result of deviation.

Types of memory lapses depending on the degree of memorization:

• hypomnesia - general weakening of memory as a result of various diseases;
• amnesia - a disorder with symptoms of memory loss associated with recent important events or incomplete memories of past events;
• Paramnesia is a type of memory disorder expressed in false memories. The patient confuses the events of the present and the past, and may not distinguish between real and fictitious situations.

According to lost skills, amnesia is divided into:

1. Semantic, which is characterized by problems with memory, which is responsible for the perception of the surrounding world. For example, the patient may not distinguish between animals and plants.
2. Episodic, when the patient loses memories of certain events.
3. Procedural, associated with memory loss for simple mechanical operations (for example, brushing teeth).
4. Professional, when the patient is not able to remember the necessary information to perform further actions.

   

Correct classification of memory loss when visiting a doctor will help speed up and simplify the diagnosis of the disease.

Characteristic symptoms

It is necessary to monitor the first signs:

• outbursts of aggression and irritability;
• deterioration of speech;
• concentration is low;
• feeling depressed and depressed;
• sharp and severe distortion of handwriting.

Acute partial short-term memory loss in older people: diagnosis, causes and treatment

This is quite common at this age. A sudden phenomenon can last from a couple of minutes to several days. An attack can occur once a year or daily. In the acute form, the patient sometimes does not realize what is happening to him.

This can be caused by:

• injuries;
• hypoxia;
• mental breakdowns;
• consequences of stroke;
• impaired blood circulation in the brain.

In addition, it is believed that an acute lack of B vitamins can provoke such changes. Smoking, alcohol and drugs aggravate mental health.

This usually goes away on its own, but if it recurs frequently or creates new problems, it is advisable to see a specialist.

Sudden loss of memory and thinking in older people

This is an incompletely studied phenomenon that makes a person’s life dangerous at any age. It can happen at any time, for no apparent reason. And now this happens even more often than a couple of decades ago. The sick person forgets everything - name, address, relatives, work. His information about what and how he lived is completely erased. Just by going out to the store, he may never return, because he will not remember who he is and where he lives.

Progressive amnesia

Usually occurs in those who have problems with the brain and nervous system. It also develops against the background of atherosclerosis, injuries and some other serious diseases. In this case, memories disappear slowly but inevitably.

Problems after a stroke

This is a circulatory disorder that directly affects the ability to remember and remember. A person who has suffered a hemorrhage begins to confuse events from childhood with current events, loses the sense of space and time, and does not understand who he is and where he is.

Only a doctor can prescribe treatment, based on individual characteristics and the level of brain damage. Self-medication will lead to tragic consequences.

Causes

Many people, not unreasonably, believe that senile memory loss is dictated mainly by age-related changes occurring in the human body. However, they include a wide range of physiological and mental abnormalities, and in each individual case, a specific one of them becomes the trigger. It definitely needs to be determined, because in the future the main line of therapy will be the treatment of this particular disease.

Physiological

• Hemorrhagic or ischemic cerebral circulatory disorders;
• hypertension, vascular aneurysms, angiomas, cerebral hypoxia;
• hypertension;
• oncology;
• cardiovascular diseases: atrial fibrillation, pre-infarction, stroke, heart defects, ischemia, hypercholesterolemia, thrombophlebitis, heart failure;
• TBI;
• severe chronic diseases: varicose veins, senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type, insulin-dependent diabetes;
• intoxication of the body;
• taking a large number of medications (to treat one of the main diseases);
• toxic encephalopathy.

In older people, age leaves its mark on the functioning of almost any organ, and the brain, the parts of which are responsible for memory, is no exception. Its loss may not even be due to any specific disease, but to ordinary, natural aging of the body:

Aging → Deterioration of brain activity → Cell degeneration → Disorders of biochemical processes (including blood circulation) → Loss of neural connections between individual areas of the brain → Memory lapses

Psychological

• Psychotraumatic situation;
• stress;
• conflicts in the family;
• depression;
• increased mental and emotional stress;
• chronic fatigue (not only physically, but also mentally);
• mental and nervous disorders.

Sometimes memory loss in old age is a consequence of external circumstances or the lifestyle that a person led before. For example, according to statistics, more than 40% of older people with dementia are alone, they have neither spouses nor children who could care for them. Psychologists and psychotherapists call this one of the reasons for amnesia. In addition, if a person for many years, as long as his health allowed, smoked, abused alcohol, and did not think about proper nutrition and sports, his risk of developing senile amnesia increases several times.

How to treat memory loss and deterioration in older people

Corrective methods depend on the underlying causes, diagnosis and progression of the disease. The most popular categories of drugs:

• anticholinesterase;
• nootropics;
• memantines.

Then they try to normalize the functioning of the cerebral cortex and restore memories. Each elderly person reacts to treatment individually, so the prescriptions will be only for him.

Usually prescribed:

• Donepezil;
• Undevit;
• Nootropil;
• Akatinol Memantine;
• Bilibol.

If the failure was sudden, then they give stimulant medications, which often help quite quickly.

Adjusting your diet and lifestyle

When the first memory problems appear, you need to see a doctor and take all the medications he prescribes. Stay calm and avoid stress.

Some tips for correction:

• sleep should remain complete, at least 7-9 hours;
• a person should rest more and walk if possible;
• it is important to be in a friendly atmosphere;
• listen to the elderly, talk to them, do not let them withdraw into themselves;
• Demand that your ward give up bad habits.

Nutritional Features

Eat often and regularly. The basis of the diet is cereal soups, dietary meat, and broths. It is better if the food is boiled, baked, baked. It is better to sit down at the table at the same time every day.

Useful to eat:

• fresh vegetables and fruits;
• dairy products;
• nuts;
• seafood;
• bitter chocolate.

Medicines

Therapy must be comprehensive. They almost always prescribe one or more from the list:

• Glycine;
• Nootropil;
• Piracetam;
• Omega-3;
• Folic acid;
• Cerebrolysin;
• Vitrum memory.

Diets

In this condition, it is important to eat a low-calorie diet. It is also important to take medications and boost brain function with sugar. You should not lean on fried and fatty foods; instead, it is better to add more fresh herbs - parsley and basil.

The main task of the attending physician is to enrich the body with oxygen as much as possible and normalize metabolism.

Folk remedies

There are recipes at home that will help improve your health. But it is not recommended to rely only on them. Therapy must be comprehensive.

Good decoctions:

• clover;
• rowan bark;
• pine buds.

Classes

One of the most effective methods to restore clarity and the ability to think to your mind is to train it. To do this, you can memorize poetry, play chess, learn other languages, and solve crossword puzzles.

Plus, there are few things quite like taking a walk in the park with a good book. But it is worth understanding that such exits from the premises must be with an accompanying person or in the fenced area of ​​a specialized institution. A person who leaves home for a walk may not return.

Physical activity is also recommended:

• hiking;
• easy running;
• swimming;
• Biking.

Prevention

Prevention of memory loss includes following the following recommendations:

• constant monitoring of your condition, avoid ignoring symptoms and timely consultation with a doctor;
• exclusion from the consumption of alcohol and other psychoactive substances;
• annual comprehensive brain examination;
• the use of dietary supplements, vitamins that can prevent health problems;
• extreme caution if there is a risk of brain injury;
• restoration of sleep and rest patterns; breaks without activity help you remember information better;
• avoiding stressful situations that negatively affect both mental and physical health;
• working with a psychologist or psychotherapist, many people need to work through their fears, anxiety and trauma, so regular visits to a specialist will prevent the development of mental illnesses, which often cause memory loss;
• regular training to develop attention, concentration and memory.

Human memory and alcohol

Many scientists explain the process of ethanol’s effect on the human brain in different ways.

Quite recently they said that after drinking alcohol, brain cells die without prospect of recovery and nothing can be done about it. Following this logic, the symptoms that belong to those suffering from alcohol dependence were quite understandable: tremor, delirium, dementia, etc.

The hippocampus is a part of the brain located in the area at the human temples. It is he who is responsible for the formation of memories from the information received, as well as for the process of transferring them from short-term to long-term.

When alcohol enters some neurons of this system, it blocks the functionality of certain cells, which is why interference occurs in the formation of information that should be displayed in memory.

The result of the above process makes it so that in the morning you don’t remember anything. And exactly how much information is retained in a person’s head after drinking is directly related to when “the recording fails.”

The brain stops recording memories from a few seconds to several hours. Often, the brain is not able to restore lost memories and a person cannot remember what happened after drinking.

This problem: Memory lapses appeared after alcohol, what to do, is quite popular today. Alcohol can affect people in different ways. Alcohol may have some benefits, but most often drinking alcohol is harmful to health. The most difficult thing to deal with is psychological dependence; in this case, you often have to seek help.

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Diagnostics

Which doctor should I contact if I have memory loss? A neurologist deals with this problem. To make an accurate diagnosis and identify the provoking factor, he uses the following laboratory and instrumental diagnostics:

• physical examination: palpation, percussion, auscultation;
• collection of general and family history;
• general clinical blood and urine tests;
• blood biochemistry;
• EEG, CT, MRI;
• CT and MR angiography.

Special testing is also carried out to determine the following points:

• Test for the volume of auditory, photographic and motor memory: the patient must remember a certain number of words spoken, illustrations shown, movements seen.
• Test for the level of semantic memory: the patient is read a text, and he must retell what he heard.
• Test for the depth of impairment: the ability to retain and reproduce information is revealed not only at the moment, but also in an hour or the next day.

After clarifying the diagnosis, the neurologist may prescribe a consultation with another, more specialized specialist to correct the therapeutic course. This depends either on the nature of the underlying disease (after a stroke, the supervising doctor will be a cardiologist, for diabetes - an endocrinologist, etc.), or on the consequences that have already manifested themselves after failures (psychotherapists and psychiatrists most often work with them).

Memory restoration is difficult, but possible

Memory restoration is a labor-intensive process, but it justifies all means. In order to return the facts of the past, you need not only medical help and understanding of relatives, but also constant work on yourself.

Drug treatment

If you notice memory problems, you should immediately seek qualified medical help.

In order to restore the patient’s memories, the doctor may prescribe the following memory restoration pills: Exelon, Semax, Reminil, Memantine, Gliatilin, Cerebrolysin. At the initial stages, Mexidol and Glycine work well.

Also, after determining the main cause that influenced the development of amnesia, drugs are prescribed that eliminate the cause of the disease.

In the case of alcoholics and drug addicts, you should first give up the bad habit, undergo rehabilitation, and then work on memory restoration.

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy should also be included in drug treatment (especially if the causes of memory loss are physiological injuries): electrophoresis, administration of glutamic acid, development and implementation of special physical activity programs that allow you to restore blood circulation, develop important muscle groups, etc.

Memory training

In the case of amnesia, you should not rely entirely on medicine and physical education. In such cases, special memory training is important. It's worth starting with poems and songs - this is a wonderful way to develop memorization.

It is necessary to try to remember poems from childhood and youth. Next, learn those songs and poems that you liked but had not studied. And only then proceed to new unfamiliar material.

Diet correction

You need to watch your diet: you must include carrots with raisins and sour cream, chocolate, walnuts, and grated horseradish. Also don’t forget about seaweed, cottage cheese, cheese, baked potatoes and apples, seeds and bananas.

Traditional methods

In spring, take 7 young pine buds per day. It is also useful to take a decoction of rowan bark. To do this, pour a large spoonful of raw material into a glass of water and boil for 10 minutes. You need to leave for 5 hours, after which you take 1 large spoon 3 times a day.

Alcohol and memory

After drinking alcohol, a person feels a surge of energy. But with prolonged use, temporary organic and cognitive-psychic changes in the brain become noticeable. A person in a state of intoxication experiences a loss of coordination of movements due to the fact that alcohol has penetrated into the area of ​​the occipital cortex and vestibular apparatus. The vestibular apparatus is associated with stabilizing the balance of the body relative to the support and how the sensory system influenced the correct perception of the senses.

Alcohol affects memory in a negative way, protecting a person from all information of the current moment. This manifests itself in selective recall of semantic information. In a normal state, a person remembers all the events of his day - good and bad. Under the influence of ethanol, the memory function of the brain changes against the background of the mental one. All unpleasant events disappear from the field of consciousness, and they are replaced by a feeling of euphoria and pleasant impressions. Alcohol thereby helps to repress bad memories, pushing them to the back burner.

Perception, which is associated with memory function, also changes. Not all details of the environment begin to fall into the field of perception of the current moment. Except for the most desirable and strong ones, all the rest fall out. Thus, the present moment is divided into several fragments. At the same time, the field of perception narrows quite strongly, the person begins to talk about only one thing that interests him at the moment, and only this is recorded in memory.

Memory lapses: 8 reasons for forgetfulness

Today almost everyone complains about memory problems. But it’s one thing if, for example, you often can’t remember where you left your gloves or where you put your cell phone. And it’s quite another thing if you are unable to recall the events of last Tuesday, or even yesterday.

Another dangerous symptom that indicates the presence of serious concomitant diseases is great difficulty when trying to retain information that has just been received in your head. Well, just like in the joke:

- Doctor, I have blackouts. – And how often do you have them? – What often? - Failures, sick, failures. – What failures?

Alas, in life similar situations look rather sad. Most often, memory impairment occurs due to the following ailments:

1. Head injuries. The more severe the injury, the worse the memory. And serious traumatic brain injuries are characterized not only by memory impairment, but also by its loss (amnesia). Against this background, even confabulations (false memories) and hallucinations appear.

Details. The beginning of the process of memory deterioration, as well as the appearance of hallucinations, coincides in time with the head injury.

What to do? Contact a neurologist and get an MRI of the brain.

2. Mental disorders. For example, Korsakoff's syndrome, in which the ability to remember current events is impaired (fixation amnesia) with relatively intact memory for the past.

Details. There is a violation of orientation in time, place and environment. False memories may appear.

What to do? Contact a psychiatrist and get examined.

Details. In addition to memory loss - poor concentration, headaches, irritability and fatigue.

What to do? Visit a neurologist, take a blood test for cholesterol, undergo a study of brain vessels.

4. Diabetes mellitus. With this disease, blood vessels suffer: the walls of large vessels thicken, and small ones completely overlap. As a result, insufficient blood flows to the brain.

Details. There may be no symptoms, but sometimes increased thirst, frequent urination, dry mucous membranes (primarily in the mouth and genitals), and increased fatigue occur.

What to do? Visit an endocrinologist, donate blood for sugar.

5. Alzheimer's disease. This degenerative, incurable brain disease is characterized by a gradual and steady decline in memory and intelligence, leading to dementia.

Details. Most often occurs after 60 years. Memory lapses relate to current situations, while a person reproduces events of the distant past easily and in detail. Sometimes the patient’s present and past change places. The person becomes quarrelsome and selfish.

What to do? At the first suspicion, contact a neurologist. With early treatment, a milder course of the disease can be achieved.

6. Diseases of the thyroid gland. Associated with a lack of production of its hormones (hypothyroidism), which are 65% iodine.

Details. In addition to memory loss, which usually appears first, the patient’s weight increases (even against the background of poor appetite), loss of strength, depression, apathy, and irritability appear. Swelling and muscle weakness occur.

What to do? Contact an endocrinologist, donate blood for thyroid hormones, and, if necessary, do an ultrasound. To prevent iodine deficiency, add iodized salt and dairy products, seaweed and sea fish, persimmons, hard cheese and nuts to your diet.

7. Osteochondrosis. If there is a hernia in the cervical spine, the blood supply to the brain also suffers.

Memory impairment is the least of all possible evils. Over time, cervical osteochondrosis can even lead to a stroke.

Details. Periodic headaches, numbness in the fingers.

What to do? Visit a vertebrologist and get an MRI of the cervical spine. Go swimming, exercise therapy.

8. Depression. Constant anxiety greatly impairs memory.

Details. Depression, apathy, reluctance to communicate.

What to do? Contact a psychotherapist.