Signs and symptoms of dementia

Signs and symptoms of Dementia

Early signs and symptoms of Dementia can be hard to notice and although the early signs vary, there are some common ones to look out for.

Common signs and symptoms of dementia include:

• memory loss or problems, mainly short term
• easily confused
• struggle to concentrate
• changes to personality or usual behaviour
• feeling more withdrawn or depressed
• finding everyday tasks hard to complete
• Difficulty with visual and spatial abilities, such as getting lost while driving
• Inappropriate behaviour

These common signs and symptoms usually go unseen and fail to be recognised as the early stages of dementia, often mistaken for normal parts of the ageing process.

You sometimes find some people may refuse to take action, even when they know something might be wrong. This is why it is important to give people the confidence and reassurance that it is a normal part of life and there is nothing wrong with suffering from dementia.

The different types of dementia

Signs and symptoms may vary depending upon the type of dementia and the area of brain cells affected. Some of the most common types of dementia are:

• Alzheimer's disease - Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia.
• Vascular dementia - This second most common type of dementia is caused by damage to the vessels that supply blood to your brain.
• Lewy body dementia - Lewy bodies are abnormal balloon like clumps of protein that have been found in the brains of people with Lewy body dementia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. This is one of the more common types of progressive dementia.
• Frontotemporal dementia - This is a group of diseases characterized by the breakdown (degeneration) of nerve cells and their connections in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, the areas generally associated with personality, behaviour and language.
• Mixed dementia - Autopsy studies of the brains of people 80 and older who had dementia indicate that many had a combination of several causes, such as Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and Lewy body dementia.

We're here for you

Suffering from dementia or seeing a loved on suffer from dementia can be hard. We are here for you evey step of the way, to make things easier and help promote independance from the comfort of home.

Please contact us to speak to someone in our team about dementia care in York.