Susan L -freaky as all getout. we are finding more and more have this strange red mark that starts on the nape of the neck and then creeps with the yrs. i think its important but dont know how..divvi
SUSAN!!! I'm moaning and groaning about my back...learned last week I have pinched nerves in my neck and a disc problem in my lower back! We need to have our own "poor little us" party. I've been either on the sofa or in bed all weekend. This is an heavy duty, back-breakin' job we share. We're living proof.
Nancy, with your pinched nerves, disc problem, and your heart problem, I am very worried about you. Your kids don't live in Houston and you need someone to help you! Please get one of those special medic alert buttons at least! You need to care better care of Nancy!
Mary, can you believe I'm just a bundle of broken parts? Ordinarily I do really well, but I agree, something is trying to tell me to slow down. I have a housekeeper who comes in Monday/Wed/Thursday from noon to 5...but she does not help with DH. She's fond of him, but she's barely 5' tall. She couldn't. That's my time to go to caregiver group meeting, grocery store and drug store. Her time does not allow me time to drive to the medical center and back for my doctor. That is an all day thing. I'm going to a nearby chiropractor for my back and neck. I hope that this is going to work. I have never used a chiropractor before. I have stayed in bed or on the sofa almost all weekend. I do need an alert thingy. I've been reading those posts.
Another red mark here...Noticed this weekend that Charlie had a red mark on the nape of his neck. I don't know when it appeared...but...It was not there 17 years ago.
My son was born with one. The strange thing about his is that it would almost be unnoticeable when he was well...but...Flared up whenever he was getting sick.
Hi & Welcome skericheri, I am sorry for your need to join us, however, I am glad you found this forum. I am sure you will find everyone kind, helpful & non-judgemental. My husband suffers from Frontal Temporal Dementia (FTD) he is 58 years old, problems started about 6 years ago. If you feel comfortable tell us about yourself, if not that's okay too. Please feel free to post at anytime. Again, Welcome
Finally got a good look at Jim's neck this morning, No Red Mark, weird, I was really expecting one. Skericheri, Welcome, my DH, like Kedee's has FTD and is 61 years old and in a solid stage 4 (out of 6) and is declining a a frightening rate. Glad you found us, this sit is the best thing to happen to me in a long time.
Thanks for the welcome ladies. Charlie, my partner who is 77, was diagnosed with garden variety Alz. about 3 1/2 years ago. His is officially classed as 'Moderate' and is a mixture of Stage 4 & 5.
You are right...This site is exceptional...I've been lurking and (from the site that I use most frequently) sending spouses here for years.
ok, I was a naysayer on this.. kept it to myself but was shaking my head saying it's a birthmark you didn't notice before.
But, Lynn now has a red blotch on the back of his head. I KNOW it wasn't there before because he is bald on top. His red spot is right were his hairline deminishes so it would have been easy to see. And I DID check when this post started and he did not have it. At first I thought it was from laying down so much and didn't want to mention it here. But it is still there! And very hard to miss. I am going to mention it to his doctor during his next appoinment. Accccck
Yes. For the first time, several months ago, I noticed a red patch at the base of his skull and attributed it to the detergent that I use. I've switched products - will check again.
funny this topic is up again. my DH was one of the first here that we noticed had the 'patch'. now its crawled over the whole half upper section of his skull. much larger than before all this posted a while back! his silver hair doesnt hide it anymore-no doubt something is giving them this patch, and it has to be assoc with the AD. its very creepy. i would still be interested to see if some of the newbies here have checked for the red patch and if their spouse has it.
mary i think its a non discovered issue and everyone in the medical field is oblivous to the patch except us here! its such a shame we have no one in the scientific field that could correlate our collective findings that seem to happen now and then and get them to the proper studies. divvi and sorry but this one is NOT birthmarks either its getting bigger all the time. divvi
I WATCHED! AND I WAITED!!! AND MY HUSBAND FINALLY DEVELOPED THE RED BLOTCH ON THE NAPE OF HIS NECK IN LATE STAGE 6. I SHOWERED MY HUSBAND, AND I ALSO DID HIS HAIR FOR MANY YEARS. HE NEVER HAD THAT SPOT UNTIL A FEW MONTHS AGO.
My DH does not have this patch. I've been googling to see if I could find anything. Only thing I could find that's even close is this:
Purpura (from the Latin, purpura, meaning "purple") is the appearance of red or purple discolorations on the skin that do not blanch on applying pressure. They are caused by bleeding underneath the skin. Purpura measure 0.3-1cm, while petechiae measure less than 3mm, and ecchymoses greater than 1cm.
A petechia, plural petechiae is a small (1-2mm) red or purple spot on the body, caused by a minor hemorrhage (broken capillary blood vessels). The most common cause of petechiae is through physical trauma such as a hard bout of coughing, vomiting or crying which can result in facial petechiae, especially around the eyes.
This is one of the many skin-related symptoms that result from Crohn's disease.
i've always thought it had to do with vasodialation of the vessels somehow. with the tau tangles and neurons dying, maybe the trauma somehow destoys the blood vessels and oxygen distributions. who knows. new realm thats spooky. vickie it could be a sort of that too. we just dont know whats occuring in the brain that could account for this.
Hi, My Dh has one but hasn't been dx so this vote doesn't count. I found a pic of a baby stork bite or salmon patch. Is this what they look like but just in a single patch? http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/toc-image-picture-of-salmon-patches
td, baby stork bite and salmon patches we have discussed in length. if you read the previous posts above from beginning yo will see joans friends came to that determination that this is what these red patches are. indeed in some cases that may be true. in my DH case as others may also attest this mark became evident with AD and progresses or can grow. not like birthmarks that are usually these stork bites type. much bigger and last and dont go away. plus they can creep up the head as ours is doing. many here are adamant they were not there previously as i also attest. something to ponder. we just have no clue -divvi
Wow! My husband also has the red patch at the nape of his neck and up into his hairline. I first noticed it about 4 years ago. Never thought much about it till now.
omg - this is too weird!! I checked back when this came up before and he did not have it. He had a haircut today and I just checked. HE HAS IT!! Unbelievable!!
briegull that is wierd! theres got to me more to this -so many, it just cant be coincidence anymore. and you are more proof it isnt a birthmark like some say. maybe it is only happening once a particular part of the brain is attacked? thats why some have it others dont now but may get it later. divvi
Divvi, is what I was thinking as well. Lynn did not have it even last month. I wash his head every day and would have seen it for sure. I noticed it was pink 3 weeks ago, now it is red. I will ask his doctor at his next appointment AND I will also mention all the people on here who have spouses with the same red blotch. Very odd, but what about this disease isn't. *sigh
yes thats definately interesting nikki and briegull who didnt have the red blotch when this thread started now are seeing it =if i had a camera i would post my DH-its creeping up back of head from nape of neck and with his silver hair is quite obvious. VERY red streaky blotch and less pink up the head, even the hairdresser comments on how its spreading up his head. and he is NOT on any AD meds for a yr now. so blaming it on that may not work as of now. that would be quite good input to have those of you who visit AD NH to check out the residents there if possible! haha.. wow. i national survey on the loose- of backs of AD heads. :)please check your AD spouse if you havent and update us or anyone who has more info! divvi ps i don thave it, my mom 89yrs old doesnt have it, my son doesnt have it, my SIL doesnt, i had her check too, nor does either of my chihuahuas..:)
OK, so Lynn saw his doctor this afternoon. He said its blood pooled from broken capillaries. I asked why so many of our AD spouses have it then, and he said it is because of ageing. Also dry, dehydrated and sensitive skins are also at a higher risk for weakened and broken capillaries. Lynn DID get his about the same time as he was having some issues and was a bit dehydrated. Makes sense, what do you all think?
Nikki, My husband is 58 years old, as I posted eariler he has the red patch that is spreading further up his head. My husband's skin is on the oily side.
Nikki, what his doctor said might be true for Lynn, but my husband doesn't have dry, dehydrated or sensitive skin, and his 39 year old son isn't considered old, so I think that if it is broken capillaries, I have to consider that it is an AD symptom that seems to occur in close to 50% of the AD cases. Men seem to have it more than women but a few women do have it as well. Doctors have many names and reasons that they give out for similar blotches, but there are too many AD patients with it to put it down to ageing (plus my son doesn't fit the profile AT ALL). My husband has had his red patch for 15 years or so, and only one child out of 4 has developed it as an adult, and it is our youngest. I think more research is needed by scientists studying AD. I know this is not a major item, but it occurs too much for coincidence.
sorry I didn't mean to imply it was only due to dry skin or dehydration. Lynn also has oily skin. The doctor was saying this happens alot with old age At 77 he certainly falls in that catagory. lol. And yes, the doctor was only saying what Lynn has. He of course can't say what anyone else has without examining them. Have any of you ever mentioned this to their doctors?
Mary just to confuse me a bit more (wink) your son has the spot as well? But NOT AD..right?
I just looked up broken capillaries...this is what it says:
What are broken capillaries?
Broken capillaries are the red spots and spidery shapes that appear mainly on the nose and cheeks.
They occur when the walls of tiny capillaries get excessively stretched and dilated by the pressure from larger veins. This abnormal dilation weakens the capillary walls causing them to rupture and tear.
Common causes of broken capillaries
A genetic predisposition as well as ageing, dry, dehydrated and sensitive skins can all give rise to weakened and resulting broken or burst capillaries.
thanks nikki for that update. i would tend to agree it looks like ruptured capillaries or tiny blood vessels but i dont buy into the theory behind it that doesnt coinside with AD. it that were true i think we'd see them all over the body or in hyper sensitive places LIKE the cheeks or nose eyelids more than the back of the head - its a very strange coincidence that MANY of our AD spouses here show this symptom and in the back of the head and not another targeted area. i believe the drs would try to give a rational dx of why they are there but in my opinion there is still so much we dont know about AD and how it affects the human body. i have super dry skin and constantly moisturize at late 50's and i dont have the broken caps in the nape of the neck but only over the cheek area some. its all too very strange. and i agree its a possibility but not probable due to the fact that so many have it here and are ALL age ranges. . and why the nape of the neck of all places if not related to this brain atrophy? next time try to get a look nikki at some of the other residents! haha. just friendly debate, and looking for all theories! divvi
LOL Divvi, I WILL try to sneak some peeks in at the other residents with AD. After thinking some more, I wonder if in Lynn's case it has anything to do inactivity? Lynn's isn't at the nape of the neck, his is on the back of his head. He does sleep alot and the red spot is where his head hits the pillow.
Nikki, yes, my son has the spot on the nape of his neck (got it in his 20s) and no my son doesn't have AD, but even though my husband doesn't have the genetic version of AD, my son is still very concerned that when he is in his 60s that he will get it. My husband's spot is also on the nape of the neck, not the back of the head... and it doesn't look like the broken caps...it's more solid red, not spidery. Just throwing out some more information.....<grin> I'm like Divvi...I know that years from now, there will be a defined link between these patches and AD. Since they know so little about AD and what causes it and what & how it breaks down the body, it will be a long while before these patches are explained....but it is important that when a lot of us find a commonality, that we discuss it in the hopes that it will help researchers in the future.
Oh I agree it is freaky! Lynn's isn't spidered at all, it is a big ol red blotch. But it does seem to make sense that it is pooled blood making it appear that color. Just not sure exactly what caused it. eeek. OK Divvi, I looked at 4 residents today that I have grown close to. I ofter rub their shoulders and faces so it wasn't too odd (lol) to do a search of their heads. They are all of course late stage, 2 of the 4 do have red spots. But not at the nape of the neck, more like Lynn's on the back of the head. Have any of you shown your spouses spots to their doctors? I am just curious what they had to say.
holymoly. haha. nikki checking out strange folks heads. haha!!!! my DH's is also up the back of his head bigtime now but started out lower. i wont waste time asking our neuro, he will have some answer like your dr nikki:)i woudnt accept that answer either. they dont know how it can relate to AD either -just an educated guess- i just cant let go that so many of the AD persons have it and in that particular place. it is strange 2 out of 4 have it in the NH as well. for my part, it will be a forever ongoing mystery. thanks nikki. maybe some of the others will check heads if they have the opportunity! haha.. divvi i am going to redo the thread so everyone can add a tallying number of 'blotches' and we have a running number. divvi
divvi-you'll be sorry. I'm going to ask the folks at hubby's facility to start checking. Do you want those numbers, too. Might be more useful to go by percentages rather than by numbers
see new thread, and yes! in facilities would be extremely helpful if nurses could check.. we cant do percentages without knowing how many in one place. ? maybe someone can give a better way to do it but for now just numbers i guess?
and got a lot of ads for stuff to improve the appearance of broken capillaries. None of the pictures looked like what my husband has. I sure would like to know if it's related to Alzheimer's.
If a certain percentage of the general population has it, it stands to reason a certain percentage of dementia patients would too. I will continue to check at the nh but I will poll family and friends also. We all stand in lines almost every day so that would be another source. On the lighter side...I told a friend about this discussion, she freaked and started wildly rooting through her purse for a mirror. I laughed and told her maybe she does have dementia because I believe she would need two mirrors to see the back of her head. cs
When I visited Bill in his dementia facility I made a point of walking behind as many residents as I could. I saw not one red spot. That surprised me as I thought I would be able to share our "great discovery"
Ordinarily, I welcome links to informative articles, but having read those links, it appears to be an unscientific, unproven money making scam, but anyone who wishes to read them is welcome to.