Home Health Care: Not Just for The Extremely Ill

Dementia is a condition that affects your memory, ability to perform daily living activities, and ability to communicate properly. If Alzheimer's disease runs in your family, it is crucial that you are familiar with the signs of dementia so that they can be identified early on. Unfortunately, there is no cure for either of these conditions. However, the sooner that you can recognize the symptoms, the earlier you can reach out for help from your doctor and start managing and treating the symptoms. If you have an elderly loved one, keep an eye out for these early signs of dementia.

Memory Loss

One of the most common symptoms of dementia is memory loss, but it can be difficult to be differentiate it from regular, age-related changes. One simple way to do so is that dementia causes you to forget information that you recently learned. For instance, if you normally would remember things very easily, but you now find yourself having to make lists and notes, you may be developing dementia.

Confusion About Places and Time

If your loved one is developing dementia, he or she will begin having trouble distinguishing between the past and the present. They may also get confused about where they are and even how they got there.

Difficulty with Concentration, Problem-solving, and/or Planning

If your loved one is one of those people that is generally always on top of things, always completely organized, great at solving problems, and good at planning complex tasks, but they are finding it difficult to do these things now, then it could be an early indication of the development of dementia. Look for things like your loved one missing doctor's appointments, forgetting to pay the bills, or incorrectly taking their medications.

Problems With Communicating

An individual with early dementia can often lose their train of thought during the middle of a conversation and sometimes repeat the same phrases or stories as though they were saying them for the very first time. This confusion can occur while speaking and writing.

Forgetting How to Do Simple Tasks

There are a lot of everyday tasks that you can do without giving much thought to them, such as laundry, washing the dishes, cooking grandmother's chocolate chip cookie recipe, driving to the store, etc. When your loved one can't do these things any more, it is a sign of early dementia.

If you have noticed any of the aforementioned signs in your loved one, contact a physician as soon as possible so that a treatment plan can be developed if it is indeed dementia. You can also discuss plans about in-home senior care, if necessary.