The symptoms of dementia range from mild memory loss to severe cognitive difficulties that can make it difficult to do daily activities without help. Dementia is grouped into categories (called stages) which doctors use to determine which kind of care a patient needs and also to help guide the family with patient care.
Very mild dementia signs are usually associated with simple forgetfulness such as misplacing keys but being able to find them after some looking.
Mild dementia is when a person can get up and do basic daily activities such as getting dressed, using the bathroom and feeding themselves but has trouble with doing simple finances such as balancing the checkbook, confusion while driving, forgetfulness and memory loss. Another sign is trouble managing medications and concentration is at a loss.
When a person reaches this stage of dementia they have trouble doing simple things they always did like cooking, laundry or using the phone. Sometimes they have trouble finding the right word or phrase to use and can have trouble if asked to count backwards say from 100. There is also an increase in social withdrawal. Many times incontinence becomes a problem too.
When a person reaches this stage of dementia they usually need help with their daily activities. At this stage a person suffers from increased memory loss such as not remembering their home address or phone number. They will need help getting dressed because they can become confused as to what season it is and not dress accordingly.
At this stage of dementia a caregiver is usually needed. A person at this stage can get lost easily if allowed to wander or go out alone. They get confused and cannot remember the names of family members but they can still remember familiar faces. They will require help with the bathroom and getting dressed. Most times they suffer from sleep disturbances and can also have bouts of paranoia and changes in personality.
By the time a person reaches this stage of dementia they have lost their language skills, awareness of their surroundings, lost muscle control to smile, eat, swallow, are incontinent and cannot even sit without support.
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