Dementia is not considered as a disease. It is caused due to the damage of the brain. Hence it is caused due to the damage of the nerve cells of the brain. Moreover, the symptoms of dementia are not similar for each person. It appears, according to the damage the brain has and in the area of the brain which is affected. It can affect our overall wellness. There are different types of dementia. Some of them are given below.
Alzheimer’s disease- A common form of dementia, which we find in elderly people, particularly those who are above their 60s is Alzheimer’s disease. Those people with plaque in the brain are found to have this dementia.
Frontotemporal dementia- When there is degeneration of the nerve cells in the temporal as well as the frontal lobes of the brain, Frontotemporal dementia occurs. This actually affects the personality of a person, his behavior as well as language.
Vascular dementia- Vascular dementia is a common type of dementia found in people next to Alzheimer’s. It can happen when there is damage in the blood vessel that provides blood to the brain.
Lew body dementia-A person having Lew body dementia has clumps in the brain.
Major symptoms of dementia
Difficulty in using the right words
The early stage of dementia is that the person finds it difficult to use words in the proper manner. Expressing ideas become a difficult process for such people. Apart from expressing the ideas, it will be also difficult for explaining things to others. In short, this will affect the overall communication skills. This also makes the person difficult to conclude in the right manner.
Change in mood
Dementia can also be a reason for a change in mood. People who usually experience mood change are prone to develop bipolar disorder. Dementia has the ability to change the mood of a person too. Understanding this symptom is very hard. But we are able to understand this condition in others easily. People who are found to be very shy in nature at times become active and energetic. Such a behavior could be an early stage of dementia. It is also found along with depressive thoughts. It is surprising to find that even a person following a healthy living style is prone to develop this condition.
Being Apathetic
One of the early signs of dementia is Apathy. When a person is in such a condition, he or she hardly listens and understands to what others say. A person experiencing this condition is found to lose interest in what they usually love to do or their favorite activities. They do not find love in interacting with others and have fun with loved ones. They do not enjoy or have any kind of emotion.
Short memory changes
This is a very common symptom that is found in people with dementia. When you are experiencing such a condition, then you will not recollect what people say and you also tend to forget what you were supposed to do. Old people forget what had happened to them. Such a condition is called short term memory loss. Elderly people might remember what had happened to them years back. But they find it really difficult to remember what they had experienced a few hours ago.
Being in a state of confusion
People with dementia usually find it difficult to face a lot of difficulty doing their day to day activities. Such people are not able to play games which are loaded with complicated rules or a large number of rules. They find it hard to understand new things or to cope up with a new kind of routine. This is usually common among elderly.
Does not understand directions
Dementia makes a person to forget the direction which is usually told by others. When you find a person forgetting directions and acting strange, you need to understand that he/she is in the early stages of dementia. Dementia could make them angry and feel depressed and frustrated.
Other symptoms
Some of the other common symptoms of dementia are communication problems, mobility issues, urinary incontinence, low appetite and vascular dementia. Treating dementia with the help of the right drugs, antidepressants as well as stimulants will help the person who is experiencing such a condition. Treatment can actually save the person from suffering from dementia in future. It is a sad fact to be understood that dementia is a condition that cannot be prevented. But taking better care of the person and providing the right mediation will help the person overcome this condition. A healthy lifestyle to an extent can help us from developing the condition of dementia. But we cannot neglect that fact that prevention of this condition is still not found.
