We all forget something sometimes. How about your keys or your wallet. But sometimes the symptoms become so bad that it can be a sign of dementia. Remembering becomes increasingly difficult and it becomes harder to take care of yourself. How can we actually recognize dementia? We will tell you.
How to recognize dementia
Dementia can be caused by different types of brain disorders. The brain is damaged and this slowly gets worse, which also increases your symptoms. In total there are more than 50 forms. The most common are Alzheimer’s, Lewy body dementia, Frontotemporal dementia and Vascular dementia. Not only the elderly can get dementia, young people can too. Only most forms of dementia start at a later age.
The first symptoms of dementia differ per person and per form. You can often notice it in memory complaints, behavioral problems and changes in character. For example, someone may have difficulty remembering what day it is or gets angry more quickly. Below are 11 different symptoms by which you can recognize dementia:
- Forgetfulness: This can be a sign of dementia. Someone may forget new information or important dates or events. Often you can also tell by the person asking the same question over and over again.
- Problems with daily things: Daily things are becoming increasingly difficult, such as arranging money matters or practicing certain hobbies. Doing things in the right order also requires something. Think of making coffee or preparing a meal.
- Mistakes with time and place: A person often has less awareness of the time or place he or she is in. He or she often also does not know how it came about.
- Language problems: Conversation becomes more difficult. A person may stop in the middle of a story because they don’t know how to continue or they repeat things. Simple words may be forgotten and talking is not always as fluent.
- Losing things: It is possible that things get lost and you no longer know where they are because they have been put in a strange place. Keys in the fridge or a comb in the oven. The person can no longer remember where they left them.
- Poor judgment: Situations in estimating or making choices are all somewhat less. Soon, things can be bought that are not needed or too much is spent.
- Withdrawal: A person may withdraw more often or do less things. Recognizing people becomes more difficult. This is often due to insecurity.
- Changes in behavior and character: A person often starts to show different behavior. He or she can be confused, anxious or very suspicious. Character often changes as well. For example, the person can do things that he or she would never do otherwise.
- Restlessness: Restlessness is very recognizable. The person feels as if he is always looking for something or has to tidy up. Always the feeling that you have to walk and that often also gives you sleeping problems.
- Vision problems: The brain has increasing difficulty processing what a person sees, which means it becomes more difficult to estimate distance.
- Delusions or hallucinations: Delusions and hallucinations can occur in two ways. For example, memory problems can cause confusion. You no longer know how old the person was supposed to be and therefore you expect a child in front of you and not an adult. It is also possible that the damage to your brain causes you to see things that are not there.
