Spotting the Early Signs of Dementia

The symptoms of dementia are often really hard to spot at first. Most of us think of the forgetting of family members or where someone lives when we think of dementia, but this is not how these types of cognitive disorders and diseases start out. The symptoms of dementia can be much more subtle and then they get worse as the disease spreads.

 

One thing that makes the early stages of the disease even more difficult is the fact that individuals with dementia are often really good at hiding the symptoms at first. Forgetting things and having difficulty with things that they know they shouldn’t is frustrating and embarrassing, so it is common that these things will be hidden to the best of their ability. Defensiveness is another common response if they are confronted about their symptoms. This is often enough to get a family member or a friend to drop the subject and not ask about it again.

 

Some of the warning signs of dementia may present themselves early, but are often overlooked.

 

That’s another area that’s impacted by dementia. Controlling emotions is something we do hundreds of times a day without even thinking about it, but this becomes more and more difficult as the disease spreads. Inappropriate emotional outbursts can become increasingly common as dementia begins to impact your loved one’s life.

 

Besides memory loss and the emotional response that goes along with it, there are several other things to be on the lookout for. For example, tasks that come naturally to us–like brushing our teeth, sitting down and eating a meal, using the bathroom, or even going into the living room to sit down and relax–can often require a lot more thought than they once did.

 

Sometimes difficulties occur because vision is impacted. Remember that Alzheimer’s is not just a disease where memory is impacted, but one where brain cells are progressively killed. It might be difficult to finish eating a meal simply because your mom or dad is not able to see their plate of food as well as they should. The brain is a complicated organ, and even the simplest of tasks require multiple parts of the brain to work together. Vision could be impacted, but there’s another action required for your parent to pick up an effectively use their eating utensil, too. If communication between parts of the brain are impacted, even this simple skill could be impaired. Watching your loved one throughout the day and observing whether these simple tasks are slowed or made difficult is another way to spot the early signs of dementia.

 

Managing life when a loved one has Alzheimer’s or any other type of dementia is tough. Watching someone that you love struggle with daily tasks is hard on you mentally, and helping them to get through the day can often be hard physically. Hiring a care service like Paradise In-Home Care can help you to better manage your loved one’s needs, along with the rest of your family’s. If you have questions about how care can benefit you, get in touch with us today and schedule a free consultation.

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