Symptoms of Dementia: When to Know that your Senior Loved One Needs a Senior Alert

When we speak of dementia, we’re not referring to a simple, singular illness, but rather it represents a complex class of cognitive-related disorders. Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut cure for this type of age-related cognitive impairment, and the most one can do is try to manage the symptoms by using modern methods such as a senior alert or some other means of symptom management. But how do you know, exactly, if a senior loved one is just having some benign “senior moment” and when it can be officially considered the manifestation of an actual dementia?

What is Dementia?

Dementia is not actually a disease in itself, but is a syndrome or a group of symptoms that serve as manifestations of a variety of more direct brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, the occurrence of a stroke, physical damage to the brain, Korsakoff’s syndrome, Binswanger’s disease, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and even HIV or AIDS. To illustrate, for example, if you have Alzheimer’s disease, then dementia may be the effect of the disease.

The following are just some of the most common symptoms of the cognitive disorder.

Memory loss: the kind of “forgetfulness” that is associated with dementia can vary, but they can be persistent and are more serious than the common occurrence of forgetting where you put your pen. Memory loss can manifest itself in many simple ways, such as forgetting what day or month or year it is, missing out on scheduled appointments, or trouble finding the right words. Some people with dementia can also find it difficult to remember events (even fairly recent ones) or to recognize people and places. Memory loss related to dementia can also manifest itself through the person’s difficulty in making simple plans or calculations, such as balancing a checkbook or even something as simple as writing a personal email or letter. They can even “freeze” in the event of an emergency, their brains unable to act quickly to respond to the demand of the moment.

Personality changes: aside from memory loss, common symptoms of dementia can be upsetting for loved ones or close relatives. Dementia can be associated with significant personality changes, and the sufferer can display severe mood swings or aggressive behavior—it is common to see seniors suffering from dementia who snap at their own children or caregivers. Behavioral changes can also be noticed in the way the senior seems to have stopped caring about their own personal grooming—they may stop taing a bath or “forget” taking a bath for days.

Hallucinations: dementia is not all about memory loss. Sometimes, depending on the underlying medical disorder, the symptoms can be as aggressive as suffering from active hallucinations. For example, those suffering from dementia with Lewy bodies can have highly detailed visual hallucinations that make it very difficult or almost impossible for them to distinguish delirium from reality. Commonly, during a spell, people with such dementia can fall and thereby incur some serious secondary injuries. Moreover, intense short-term confusion can also occur, and if this happens suddenly, the likelihood of it being the symptom of a new disease or a worsening illness is high.

The most obvious symptom of dementia, as you can see, is memory loss. It is the first thing that loved ones or relatives notice because memory is a vital element of normal interpersonal interaction, and faulty memory can disrupt daily tasks or even social arrangements. If it is a mere occasional forgetfulness, with everything else about your aging parent appearing to be functioning normally, then no need to raise the red flag yet. Remember that mild forms of forgetfulness, such as difficulty recalling someone’s name, is a normal part of aging and does not necessarily entail an underlying medical disorder. But if the forgetfulness becomes more and more common, associated with other symptoms as general confusion or distinct personality changes, then your senior loved one may need to use supportive devices such as a senior alert or a care-giving service, if you can afford one. One cannot ignore the manifestations of dementia—once the symptoms appear, it is important to clamp on it with effective management strategies in order to protect your senior loved one from inflicting harm on themselves and on others.