Age Dementia Symptoms
Overview of Dementia
Dementia is a condition that occurs when cognitive functions begin to decrease, thereby affecting one's intellectual and social capabilities. This decline leads to loss of quality of life compounded by mental problems.
Age-related dementia can affect one's sense of judgment, cause difficulties in concentrating, and can change personality. About 5% of people over age 65 are stricken with Alzheimer's, which is the most common form of age dementia. That percentage increases to 20-25% in elderly people who have reached the age of 80 or over.
There are different treatment options for age dementia, depending on the case of the person and how severe the dementia is. These treatment options range from tranquilizers, anti-depressants, cognitive enhancing medication, and anti-convulsion drugs.
Caring for a dementia patient can be difficult but the following guidelines apply: remove clutter from the home, leave furniture and objects in the same place so as not to confuse the patient, encourage the person to engage in activities that he or she can still do or perform (for example, going for exercises in the gym or taking long walks,) speak slowly and calmly and give the person one idea or one instruction at a time.
There are also local support groups for age dementia patients and their caregivers.
Age Dementia Symptoms
While we often forget things like the exact spot where we parked the car, or where we placed our keys, or items we did not buy at the supermarket, this form of forgetfulness is normal and medically does not qualify as dementia. This occasional forgetfulness is caused by the daily stress we go through every day and the problems that beset us at home and at the office.
Age dementia, on the other hand, is not a normal part of aging. It is a disabling disease and is progressive, although in most cases it does not require emergency treatment.
Age dementia symptoms include:
- Sudden loss of memory even of recent events,
- Inability to learn new things,
- Frequent confusion and a significant degree of forgetfulness and misplacing things,
- Tendency to repeat oneself
- Marked changes in personality (higher degree of irritability, anti-social behavior, unexplained sadness or joy)
- Depression, decreasing social contact
- Restlessness -- people diagnosed with dementia will try to go out even if it's raining outside, or will frequently try to "escape" when placed in a facility, or will refuse to have their daily bath.
Because this disease is not curable, but gradually progresses with age its important that patients be treated with tender care by both family members and caregivers alike. Also, caregivers asigned to care for these patients must have some if not full knowledge of what the disease entails.