The Subtle Beginning Signs of Dementia

When a senior starts to develop dementia, the signs can be very subtle. Some of the symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer's is memory loss, such as forgetting something which was recently learned. Other indicators may be an increase of relying on memory aids because of forgetting important dates. But there is also a difference between subtle signs of dementia and age-related changes.

Signs of dementia opposing signs of age-related changes

An early sign of dementia could be when a person develops a problem with working with numbers or following a plan. There could also be a problem with keeping track on the monthly bills or even following a familiar recipe. Not being able to concentrate or taking a long time to do a routine task can also be a sign. What an age-related change is if there are some errors when doing the balance in the checkbook.

With a dementia or Alzheimer’s onset, a person may lose the passage of time. They can confuse the days of the week or even what is the season. Or they could forget where they’re going or why they are leaving in the first place. With an age-related change, it’s okay to be confused about the day of the week as long as the person figures it out later.

With early signs of dementia could be difficulty with remembering the exact words or how to use them. Or the person could have trouble following a conversation. The senior could cease talking in the middle of a conversation because they have forgotten the topic or can't remember how to proceed. But, just not finding the right word or words sometimes is a typical age-related change, not memory loss.

A person could misplace something or puts it in a spot which would be considered unusual. For example, if the person would put an iron in the refrigerator instead of a cupboard. Or, if something is misplaced, they can't retrace their steps to find it again, this could be an early sign of dementia. A typical age-related issue is when something is misplaced sometimes but by retracing steps is located.

Early signs of dementia can show up as bad or poor judgment. A person who made the correct choices or excellent decision making may start to mishandle money. For example, falling for one of the many money scams which are so prevalent. A decision which is age-related may be making a wrong decision occasionally.

Other early warning signs

Some other warning signs are the inability to understand sarcasm or not being able to spot communication which is insincere or lies. To be able to detect sarcasm or lies uses complex cognitive, which a person who is developing dementia isn’t able to do that.

Another sign is a change in the person’s sense of humor. Or, what used to make the person laugh has changed to something entirely different and out of character. For example, if the person enjoyed comedy that was satirical and now enjoys slapstick, it can be an early sign of dementia.

An unusual sign for an early sign of dementia is the inability to be able to smell peanut butter. This sign of possible early dementia was from a study performed by Dr. Katherine Rankin. The study has 175 people involved with some of the people having neurodegenerative diseases. It's because of studies like these help to detect dementia earlier which leads to earlier treatment.

One thing to remember is that memory loss is not a normal part of getting older. If a person forgets to take out the trash on trash day, that’s not memory loss. However, forgetting how to use a fork is memory loss.