Early Signs Of Dementia & How To Deal With Them

Noticing that you or someone you love is increasingly confused or forgetful is a worrisome experience. Besides being painful, it can also make you wonder what’s going on, what it may mean for the future, and what you should do.

If these questions are on your mind, know that you’re not alone and that you can help your loved one (and yourself) in a variety of ways. Information and support are abundant.

But first, you need to understand what you’re facing.

In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the most common early signs of dementia as well as the steps you can take to get yourself or your loved one a diagnosis and support.

What Is Dementia?

Dementia is the term given to a group of diseases that affect a person’s thinking, behaviour, and ability to perform everyday tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is one well-known type of dementia, but many others also exist. Dementia is most often associated with older adults, but in reality, it can occur in people of all ages.

Only a medical professional can definitively diagnose dementia, so if you suspect that you or someone you love may be impacted, it’s crucial to have a proper assessment done.

Other conditions that can mimic dementia include strokes, depression, alcohol abuse, infections, hormonal disorders, nutritional deficiencies, and brain tumours. In addition, certain medications can also produce dementia-like behaviour. It’s important to rule out other possible causes of the symptoms you’re noticing before moving forward with a treatment plan for dementia.

Early symptoms of dementia can be vague and may vary from individual to individual. They can also manifest differently depending on the type of dementia in question. That being said, there are several categories of symptoms that are generally warning signs across the board.

The list below (based on a list from the Alzheimer Society) is by no means exhaustive, but if you’re noticing symptoms from multiple categories, it’s probably a good idea to take note and investigate further:

• Day-to-Day Abilities Affected by Memory Loss—This may look like a person forgetting things often or struggling to retain new information.
• Difficulty With Familiar Tasks—This may look like forgetting how to do a routine activity such as making a phone call, cooking a meal, or getting dressed.
• Language Problems—This may look like constantly searching for words or inserting words into a conversation out of context.
• Disorientation—This may look like problems keeping track of dates, times, and locations—forgetting appointments, getting lost in a familiar place, or having trouble knowing what day it is.
• Misplacing Things—This may look like constantly putting things in places where they clearly shouldn’t be—an alarm clock in the fridge or a toothbrush in the living room.
• Impaired Judgment—This may look like choices that put the person’s health and safety at risk—dressing inappropriately for the weather, leaving the stove on, or not seeking attention for a medical issue.
• Changes in Mood, Behaviour, and Personality—This may look like “out of character” behaviour, mood swings, depression, or outbursts.
• Loss of Initiative—This may look like someone just not caring about the things that used to get them out of bed in the morning.
• Visual/Spatial Challenges—This may look like struggling to see properly or to manipulate objects appropriately—such as placing a glass of water on a table.

What’s Next?

Ok, you’ve noticed some warning signs. What now?

The first critical step is to talk to your loved one. This is never an easy conversation, so make sure you’re in a comfortable place where you can easily hear each other and have the ability to speak freely. Start by communicating what you have observed and then gently and lovingly suggest that you think it’s essential to find out more about what’s going on.

Though it may feel overwhelming, the next crucial step is to get a diagnosis. Often, people in the early stages of dementia are either fearful of having a diagnosis confirmed or are genuinely unaware of their symptoms and feel a medical appointment is unnecessary. Either way, it’s important to reassure your loved one that making an appointment is the right course of action. If you cannot convince your loved one to make an appointment for their dementia-like symptoms, try encouraging them to make an appointment for something else more concrete—like an annual physical or a follow-up for something else. This will at least put them physically face-to-face with their doctor.

Support for Everyone

A dementia diagnosis can feel overwhelming and uncertain. Additional supports and personalized planning will be in order. Also, it will be vital that you, as a caregiver, remember to take care of yourself as well.

To this end, a private home care agency can be a wonderful way to share the load and ensure your loved one is receiving professional, individualized, and kind support at all times as needed. If you’re in search of senior care services in Winnipeg, give us a call at Right At Home Winnipeg today.

Why Right at Home?

• Over 20 years of experience. Right at Home has been providing award winning customized senior care and home care for over 20 years.
• YOUR Caregivers are all part of YOUR Care Team. This means that there is no revolving door of Personal Support Workers and Nurses. With the help of your Care Planner, you choose and get to know them. This leads to an level of care for your loved one that is unsurpassed in our industry.
• Working with government support. Your Care Planner will work to help you find the government supports you are eligible for (if you would like them) and then work to find a solution for the care needs that go above what government and family can do. We will also work around the government care plan so that we are enhancing it.

We help in home, wherever home is to you.

Our Caregivers are always out in the community visiting homes, Retirement Residences, Long Term Care (LTC), hospices and hospitals.