Signs and Symptoms of Dementia

Dementia, characterized by a decline in the functioning of the brain, which is the most vital organ of human body, can make life difficult for both the patient and his/her relatives. The word dementia hails from the Latin words, ‘de’, meaning 'apart' and ‘mens’, meaning 'mind'. Dementia is an illness syndrome that affects areas of the brain that are associated with memory, attention, cognition and language. Dementia results in memory loss and a sharp decline in problem solving and language processing abilities. It is commonly observed in the aged population of society. What are the symptoms of this dementia? Let us find out.

Signs and Symptoms of Dementia

Loss of memory is one of the major symptoms of dementia. People suffering from dementia tend to forget names of people and places in day-to-day use. They tend to miss appointments and fail to remember the simplest of things. They find it difficult to cope with their daily routines as a result of severe memory loss.

Patients of dementia exhibit a decline in their problems solving capacities. They face difficulties in thinking, planning and taking decisions. They experience a drastic drop in their levels of concentration. They fail in processing language and experience great difficulty in finding appropriate words to express their emotions. Those suffering from dementia lose an orientation of time and space. They fail to remember familiar surroundings and lose the sense of time.

Behavioral changes are a common sign of dementia. Suddenly changing moods and drastic changes in personality are commonly observed in the patients of dementia. Sufferers of dementia exhibit a temperamental imbalance.

Negligence towards personal cleanliness and hygiene, neglect of personal safety as also negligence towards one’s diet and nutrition are among the other signs of dementia. Patients of dementia show changes, not only in their general behavior but also in their personal habits.

Alzheimer’s disease, one of the common types of dementia is generally characterized by disorientation in space and time along with loss of memory, irritability and confusion. Vascular dementia, another important type of dementia, is characterized by physical disabilities like loss of vision, loss of control over bowel movements and paralysis. Varying moods and sudden changes in personality are among the other symptoms of vascular dementia.

The symptoms of dementia bring about the fact that this disease deprives its sufferer from the basic joys in life. It deprives a person from memory, which is perhaps one of the most precious gifts from nature. Thus, it is natural for the patients of dementia to lose interest in life. They exhibit diminishing social abilities and hence avert the patient from mingling with people around them.

Loss of memory, irritability and restlessness, varying moods and sudden changes in personality are the commonly observed signs of dementia. Dementia makes a person disoriented in space and time and disinterested in life. Medication may be able to bring back the orientation to a person’s life but only the care and support from the person’s near ones can bring back his/her interest in life.