The Symptoms of Dementia

The symptoms of Dementia are not the very same for every person. But there are certain typical symptoms that will happen in most people that have it.

One of the most obvious symptoms when dementia is just starting is the loss of the short term memory all of the time, not just sometimes. The person that is being affected may say something, and then a few minutes later, forget what they just then said. There is also the misplacing of objects all of the time, such as a purse, the keys, or whatever it is.

Things that the person has always done over and over, like driving a car for instance, they will now have trouble remembering what to do in order to drive it. A lot of judgment that the person normally would have in their state of a normal mind is lost. It is also hard for the person affected to fix a meal, balance a checkbook, and they will forget how to do familiar household chores.

You may also notice that a person who has earlier dementia may be showing obvious personality changes. They may be frightened for no reason, have degrees of paranoia either mildly, or severe, and they may laugh out loud or cry on and on for no apparent reasons. This symptom is very common in most people that are into the beginning of having dementia.

Forgetting names of loved ones and others is also characteristic of early dementia. They may have a momentary lapse of not knowing their own child's name, or spouse's name, and others that are close to them.

People that have dementia beyond the first stages may be sleeping poorly, waking up at night, and even wandering about outside. They are often in a state of confusion, forget where they are at, and what it is they are doing.

As dementia advances in a person, they will also have trouble in remembering how to bathe, get dressed, and use the bathroom. At this point, the person will have a zero level of an attention span, will not be able to focus or concentrate, or be able to learn any new kinds of information. This is the point where the person needs someone to look after them and watch what they are doing since they might do things that are dangerous to themselves and even others around them.

People that have very severe levels of dementia, will forget how to eat, have trouble in their ability to swallow, and forget how to walk. These are the later stages and the person that has dementia to this degree will often need 24 hour nursing care.