Why Can't I Remember - Causes for Memory Loss

As we get older in life we all tend to forget some things. where did I leave my keys? Where did I park my car? when was that appointment?
One part of natural aging is to have some degree of memory loss from time to time. If or when it becomes more than occasional and it becomes more than just a small thing is when one should begin to look for answers.

There are a myriad of causes that can cause memory loss. Pain and other medications such as antihistamines, anti anxiety or depression medications, sleeping pills, and some medications can cause some memory loss. Heavy alcohol and or drug abuse reduces B1 thiamine that can cause memory loss. Other causes are head injury, stress, especially emotional trauma. Nutritional deficiency, losses of B1 and B12.

Thyroid disorder either low or high thyroid functions and infections such as HIV, syphilis, herpes, and tuberculosis affect the lining of the brain causing some memory loss. Another cause is sleep deprivation.

The more serious conditions are something that may incur surgery, some sort of ongoing therapy or medications and sadly some illnesses cannot be stopped. vascular dementia is a condition where the arteries in the brain become blocked and causes loss of blood and oxygen to the brain. Lewy body dementia is a buildup of proteins in the brain that make deposits in the brain. This causes progressive cognitive decline, also a decline in alertness, attention and some visual hallucinations. Actual dementia is mental deterioration in particular to the memory and thought processes. Pre-senile dementia's, i.e. Alzheimer's represent a group of degenerative diseases of the brain in which mental deterioration first becomes apparent in middle age.

Unusual reasonableness, impairment of judgment and no longer grasping the situation at hand are some symptoms. Memory gradually fades, recent events are no longer remembered, although events in early life can be recalled. There is a deterioration of physical appearance and hygiene. Finally one of the last things to go is the use of language. Patients become confined to bed and sadly a lot of them eventually die.

Resources for coping with these diseases are frustrating for both the family members and the person with the disease. Some people use memory aids to help such as color coding and labeling items in the home. They attach safety notes and directions for use. Some also use alarms and talking clocks to keep track of time and remember medication doses. Families may also experience things such as frustration, anger, exhaustion and irritability along with other caregiver stress. There are no specific treatments for degenerative brain diseases.

Source :Medical and Health Encyclopedia
Source: http://www.fda.gov/consumer/features/memoryloss0507.html