When you know some of the early signs of dementia, you can know when to talk to your doctor or seek help for a loved one. While there’s not yet a cure for dementia, seeking advice as early as possible improves quality of life.
Dementia is a progressive condition, so the symptoms get worse over time. Many different types of dementia affect brain function. Alzheimer’s is the most common type, which is why you recognize the name, and many people use the terms interchangeably.
Here are some early signs of dementia to keep your eye out for.
You may equate memory loss to dementia because it is one of the most noticeable symptoms. Remembering recent events and information becomes more difficult. And losing things around the house or forgetting appointments becomes more common.
Many people have a tendency to forget things as they get older. Still, people without dementia do have different memory patterns. Someone who doesn’t have dementia can usually tell you what day it is (or have a good story about why not.) Someone with dementia may not be able to think through what day it is, the month, or perhaps even the year. There are other causes for this kind of confusion, such as concussion or medication side effects, but it needs to be checked out.
Thinking through the steps to complete a recipe, do the laundry, or turn on the TV may be difficult for someone with dementia. Often, they know they should know how to do the task but get stalled during the process. This can lead to frustration and upset because they don’t know why some easy task is suddenly challenging. Even if they can eventually complete the task, it may take longer and longer to do.
Conversations stall as someone with early dementia symptoms stops talking to look for words. For others, their conversations are very fluent, but they regularly repeat themselves. Calling familiar objects by the wrong name is common, too. You may notice confusion on their face as they seem to realize something is wrong but don’t really know what.
Some common personality changes include getting easily upset or not being interested in previously enjoyed. Behaviours may seem out of character.
With these early signs of dementia in mind, seek medical attention to provide some relief for symptoms.
