Have a father that is going to be 64 and he has gotten to a point were he will wear the same clothes for days without washing them. He has a family history of Alzheimer's desease, which includes his father dying of it and has had two uncles die from it and also two aunts that have passed away from it. We are worried that this is a early sign of the desease and were just wondering if we are on the right track.
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Q: With a family history of Alzheimer's, is a not washing clothes on a regular basis a early sign?
Answers (3)
1/19/10 10:54am
Hi, BPohlman,
Do you see other symptoms that might suggest Alzheimer's. In my case, my father -- who doesn't have dementia -- has gotten used to wearing the same clothes for several days straight without washing them. He was used to Mom handling the household chores for over 40 years, so he isn't good about doing housekeeping chores (such as laundry) on his own. However, if you are concerned, I'd suggest talking to your father's doctor.
Take care and keep us posted.
Dorian
1/16/10 2:57pm
Hi BPohlman,
Your father may have a problem wtih dementia since he was hygenic and now he is not changing his clothes. But don't jump to the conclusion. Ask his family doctor to refer him to a neurologist/psychiatrist or a test center to check out his memory level. With 3 hours verbal test in the office like my father-in-law did, they were able to diagnose my FIL with early stage of AD. But the stage in the office was just educated guess. My FIL was in moderate stage actually as my FIL lied to them in answering some questions about taking a shower (he does not take showers at night but he told the person he did at night as he came in dirty.)
My FIL was a doctor that was not practicing in the States but he was very worried about being clean and always told us to wash our hands coming from outside. Starting 2006/2007, he no longer knew why he needs to wash his hands, not to mention that he does not like to adjust the water temp. and does not know how.
My FIL went for the test because he wanted to know if he could drive. But at that time he was dirty and we were not aware of it as we were long-distance caregivers and the caregiver next to him didn't really mention that. Now the caregivers make sure he takes a shower once or twice a week and they tell him to wash his hands after he goes to the toilet.
Your father may have dementia but there may be other reasons for his behavior. So check it out first.
Take care,
Nina
1/17/10 5:45am
Hi,
Changes in appearance like those that you mentioned, can be a sign of dementia. However, if this is the only indication of a behavioral change, there could be another reason for it. The Alzheimer's family history is certainly something that bears a closer look in this situation. Does your father have any memory issues that have recently become apparent? Is he still in touch with where he is, the date (month/year) and who our current president is? Does he repeat questions that have been answered or tell stories repeatedly?
If your father has no other symptoms and appears to be functional, you may want to observe him for a while to see if anything else is going on. Check the refrigerator for outdated dairy products or old cooked food that should be thrown away. Neglect of food safety and the laundry could be some red flags that things are no longer being well managed in his life. If that isn't typical for him, something is probably wrong. It may not be anything really serious, though.
Hopefully, your father's repeated use of the same clothing is just a response to economic pressures and he's possibly trying to get a little more mileage out of them before washing them. If so, it's just a lifestyle choice, even if not one that you or I would make! You might tactfully approach this situation with him and ask him if his washing machine is broken or if he is out of detergent. There might be a good explanation that would put you at ease and might even provide an opportunity to help him with a minor problem. Maybe the water bill or electric bill got his attention and he's determined to reduce costs. I hope that it's something simple like this.
If it appears to be something more, convince him to see his regular doctor. The doctor will check him out and order some tests to see what might be causing these things. When all of the common things have been ruled out, his doctor may refer him to a neurologist for cognitive testing and a CT scan. His family history will be part of that evaluation. If dementia is the probable diagnosis, there are some good treatments available in the early stages. Living alone will not be a safe environment for him anymore, either. It will be the beginning of a long and challenging journey.
I wish you and your father well. Please let us know how things turn out. Best Wishes, -- Joe
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By BPohlman— Last Modified: 12/17/10, First Published: 01/16/10
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