
Health
Early Warning Signs of Dementia
Dementia is a general term used to describe a group of symptoms associated with a cognitive disease (i.e., Alzheimer’s disease,Vascular dementia, Lewy Body dementia). The decline in mental ability significantly affects a patient’s life in the areas of memory, language, and reasoning. Diagnosis is made by a doctor after certain mental and physical tests are performed. Currently there’s no single way or test to identify dementia. Early symptoms of dementia often involve problems with memory and mental confusion, poor impulse control, and sometimes speech and visual issues. A person with dementia may have problems doing certain tasks they’ve had no problem with in the past. To diagnose dementia two or more of the following symptoms must be present: 1. Memory loss Memory problems in patients with dementia involves more than just a few instances of not being able to remember something. It happens repeatedly. Memory problems include not remembering scheduled appointments and losing track of possessions such as a wallet or keys. The problem is usually with short-term memory. 2. Problem solving difficulties When a problem crops up a person with dementia may not be able to figure out what to do about it. They also might not be able to follow directions because their ability to reason, even simply, has become affected.
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