Causes of Memory Problems

Being forgetful is quite a common problem and almost all of us have faced an almost similar situation in our past where we completely forget where we had kept certain things or birthdays or important events. But forgetting things quite frequently, is something that one should worry about. Memory loss can also be termed as 'Amnesia' where the person fails to recall any past events or maybe some recent events or sometimes both. The loss of memory can either be temporary or permanent, depending upon the causes of memory problems. Loss of memory starts with tiny little things such as forgetting where we had kept the comb, then moving on to forgetting which day it was and so on. Hence, it's important that one knows about the causes and issues with losing your memory, so that proper help can be given immediately.

Main Causes

Whenever people start forgetting things quite frequently, they fear the worst; Alzheimer's Disease. True, that might be one cause for memory loss, but not always. There are several other causes which makes one forgetful, which makes one fail to remember things from the near or early past and some of the common memory loss causes have been discussed below. If you want to know what are the symptoms that one starts showing when they start facing memory problems, then you can go through the memory loss symptoms.

• Aging is one important memory lapse cause. As we start aging, we start losing our brain cells. This usually starts once we reach the age of 20. During this time, the chemicals which our brain cells need in order to work, is also produced in less amount, thus making us forgetful as we grow older. The short memory or remote memories will not be affected, but the memories of recent time period will be forgotten.
• Problems like epilepsy, can also lead to bouts of memory loss although memory loss due to epilepsy is a temporary one. The person might also get disoriented after a seizure and may not be able to remember certain things which happened recently.
• Some of the most common causes of sudden memory loss are Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Both these problems affect mainly the aged group and if this problem can be detected at a very early stage, it can be cured. But sadly, the result is not always positive.
• Amnesia is also another cause. This occurs when the memory is affected either due to functional or organic causes. The traumatic amnesia or the loss of memory due to some kind of brain damage is usually referred to as the organic cause while psychological trauma is usually referred to as functional trauma, which is adapted. Functional amnesia is one of the main causes in children.
• Stroke or some kind of head injury also leads to memory loss. Besides this, if a tumor develops in that part of the brain which helps in remembering things, then again there are chances of a person forgetting things frequently. Infections in the brain tissues which leads to the swelling of the tissues or which blocks the free flow of blood to the brain cells, is another cause of memory problems in young adults or older people.
• Here are some more causes and that's some kind of psychological disorder such as depression or anxiety or even stress. When a person is depressed or stressed out, remembering certain things becomes difficult. The mind starts handling more than enough and thus forgets some of the important things.
• Drugs and alcohol are also the main culprits when it comes to memory problem causes. Certain drugs, such as the ones used for anesthetic purposes can also lead to memory loss. Too much of alcohol, makes a person drunk and this often leads to temporary loss of memory. The alcohol also reduces the amount of Vitamin B12 in our body and this vitamin is needed for the working of the nervous system in our body. If that is not present in its proper amount, then the person suffers from memory problems. This is one cause of memory loss in young adults.
• Here's some more causes of short term memory problem. Low blood sugar level is one major cause of short term memory loss. This can often happen, if a person does not eat properly or if the person is diabetic.

There are of course several, memory loss treatments that one can carry out in order to reverse the problem. Solving crossword puzzles and learning a difficult language are great ways to prevent losing one's memory.