Early Signs of Dementia: 10 Signs to Watch Out For

Dementia is a common syndrome experienced by many elderly Australians characterised by memory loss, or other symptoms affecting a person’s social and thinking abilities. While there remains no cure for it, early diagnosis of dementia can enhance a person’s quality of life and help you or the carer manage it better. Read this article to understand what dementia is and the common symptoms you should look out for. 

In this article:

• What is dementia?

• How common is dementia?

• What are the warning signs of dementia?

• How do connected care devices help those with dementia?

What is dementia?

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines dementia as a chronic, progressive syndrome that causes a person's cognitive and behavioural functions to deteriorate primarily as a result of ageing. As people grow older, the nerve cells that keep the brains working—known as neurons—lose their vigour, disconnect with other brain cells, and stop working altogether.

Most people would ordinarily lose a few brain cells as they age; however, those who suffer from dementia experience neuron loss at a faster and greater rate.

As a result, people with dementia experience difficulty in thinking, remembering, and reasoning daily. Dementia also affects a person's ability to control their emotion, which might make it look to others that their personality has changed.

How common is dementia?

WHO says dementia affects over 50 million people all over the world, with cases increasing by 10 million per year.

Meanwhile, Healthdirect Australia estimates that over 400,000 people in Australia have dementia, with women comprising 55% of that number. Dementia Australia adds that it is the second leading cause of death in the country, surpassing heart disease. The Australian population with dementia is predicted to increase to 589,000 by the year 2028, and over a million by the year 2058. Dementia remains to be the leading cause of senior Australians' disability and the third cause of the elderly's overall burden.

What are the warning signs of dementia?

Family members of seniors often notice signs of dementia among their elderly relatives three years before an official diagnosis. While most people experience dementia differently, many of its reported signs are common across the board, with symptoms escalating as dementia progresses.

If you're currently caring for an elderly loved one, look out for these early warning signs of dementia listed below.

1. Prevailing Memory Loss

It's perfectly normal to forget where you put your car keys or what you ate for breakfast now and then. Usually, you'd remember where you put them or what you ate later in on.

 A person with dementia forgets more often than the next person. As dementia progresses, people with it have a harder time recalling things. As it worsens, dementia can cause them to fail to remember anything at all, and would fail to recognise even their loved ones.

2. Distracted From Everyday Tasks

It's not unusual for people to be distracted from their current tasks. Distractions like a quick phone call, 30-second social media update, or a sudden emergency can easily take you away from the things you need to get done.

Most people will bounce back from these distractions in a heartbeat. But for those with dementia, going through a to-do list is tough. Those quick distractions can make it difficult for someone with dementia to finish everyday tasks such as preparing a meal or getting dressed.

3. Constant Confusion

People with dementia are often in a constant state of confusion. It starts with a person asking about small things, such as what day of the week it is or why they're in a specific place at a given time.

In its later stages, dementia makes it hard for people to recognise what's most familiar to them, such as close relatives and even the home they live in. Not being able to recognise these things further aggravates the person with dementia and adds to their confusion.

4. Trouble With Speaking and Communicating

Sometimes, it's hard to find your words, especially when you've had a long day.

Those with dementia are caught having a hard time finding their words more often, even when they're well-rested. They often forget even the simplest words and either space out or make inappropriate substitutions, making it that harder to understand them.

5. Trouble With Math

While math isn't everyone's strongest suit, you can probably quickly compute in your head how much change you’ll get when you pay $10 for a McDonald's meal.

For those with dementia, even the smallest numbers can be intimidating. What you may think is simple, such as counting change, can be confusing to a person with dementia. Imagine just how hard it will be for those suffering from dementia to manage their overall finances.

Tunstall Healthcare offers connected care devices that safeguard the welfare of people with dementia. Each Tunstall client has an individually tailored care plan and our Customer Care Consultants will provide the appropriate support accordingly. Family, friends and formal care givers can all be appraised on any incidents, activity changes or potential environmental risks.
- Tunstall Healthcare

6. Impaired Judgement

All of your everyday activities require good judgement. Crossing the street or driving a car requires for you to be in tip-top shape—not just physically, but mentally as well.

Dementia makes it extremely difficult to make the necessary judgement calls to perform these tasks. People with dementia may find it hard to decide what to wear on a cold, rainy day or even estimate distance when driving a car.

7. Sudden Personality Changes

You’re allowed to have sudden mood swings from time to time. You can feel frustrated when you miss a deadline, or feel upset when someone annoys you.

Yet compared to most people, those with dementia often have bouts of mood swings. Some are triggered by actual events, but others happen for no reason at all. Constant mood swings can change a person's personality; they can be outgoing one day and withdrawn the next.

8. Loss of Initiative

You probably have hobbies you’d be more than happy to set aside time for. In fact, it could be the very thing you most look forward to at the end of a tiring work week. 

That's not to say that there are times when you’re too tired or worn out to do your hobbies. It's okay to lose interest in some of the things you love to do. But for people with dementia, loss of initiative and appreciation for hobbies happen instantly and often out of nowhere.

Loss of initiative might even make it look like they don't enjoy spending time with family, friends, and other loved ones.

9. Loss of Energy

It’s normal to feel tired at the end of a long week, but feeling lethargic 24/7 is not normal. For those with dementia, feeling like they have no energy at all is a common occurrence.

As your elderly loved ones lose interest in their previously enjoyed hobbies, they can remain more sedentary and less active. As a result, this can also lead to overall lowered energy. They may not have the vigour or strength to go out, do something fun, and enjoy themselves.

10. Need for Personal Health Care

You may forget to shave once or twice a week, but that doesn’t mean you’re not taking care of yourself. In dementia, constant forgetfulness and impaired judgement that comes with its advanced stages, which make it challenging to those who have it to live independently. While those with dementia won't often ask for help, the need to provide them with personal health care becomes apparent as symptoms progress.

How do connected care devices help those with dementia?

Living with dementia or caring for an elderly loved one that suffers from it is no easy task. At Tunstall Healthcare, we recognise this, and as challenging as it may be, we believe that supporting your loved ones with dementia is possible with connected care devices.

People with dementia are more prone to accidents. Connected care devices like a fall detector and pendant alarm stand at the ready to help your loved one seek immediate assistance in these accidents, whether it be a minor slip or significant fall.

To call for help, all your loved one needs to do is press the help button on the connected care device. This connects them to a 24/7 care monitoring representative right at the moment of emergency.  

Should your elderly family member need an ambulance or police assistance, the customer care representative will arrange for these to go directly to your loved one's home. You, as the loved one's immediate family or caregiver, will be notified of any arrangements made to assist your loved one.

Fall detectors, pendant alarms, and similar connected care devices can empower those with dementia to take control of their care, allowing them to enjoy life as they want—independently and worry-free. They can do this all with the assurance that help is a call away should it ever be needed.

Conclusion

Dealing with dementia is by no means an easy task. While there remains no cure for it, dementia can be managed and dealt with when you combine the right care, medication, and devices.

Connected care devices as simple as a fall detection watch or pendant alarms by Tunstall Healthcare equip your loved ones with almost immediate access to a professional team of care monitoring personnel. Our team stands at the ready to provide efficient, around-the-clock assistance whenever and wherever it's needed. As a family member or caregiver, you'll never have to worry about your elderly loved one's call for help being ignored.

Take action today!  Contact us for more information on the best connected care devices you can give your elderly loved ones with dementia.