Dementia is a comprehensive medical word for several indicators of cognitive decline. Dementia is not necessarily a disease but considered a combination of symptoms. The different types of dementia are Alzheimer’s, Lewy body dementia, Frontotemporal, Vascular, and mixed dementia. The causes of dementia are harm to neurons and neuronal pathways in the brain.

Uncontrollable risk factors for dementia development are old age, genealogy, and several genetic diseases (i.e., Parkinson’s disease). Risk factors under your control are diet and lifestyle, lack of dietary supplements, lack of sleep, addictions like smoking and alcoholism, diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Dementia symptoms can include but are not limited to the following:

1. Memory problems
Sporadic forgetfulness like occasionally misplacing keys or forgetting an address is normal and light memory loss with age is usual. However, gradual retention loss combined with other symptoms can be indicative of dementia. It is an issue if it harbors you or your loved one’s daily routine life. It is essential that memory loss be diagnosed as early as possible to make treatment effective. In order to cope with memory loss, it is advisable to make use of virtual productivity iOS or Android apps or even paper to write down important information. It is ideal to set alarms to remind yourself of important appointments or deadlines.

2. Confusion about time and place
Patients with dementia can often be disoriented and be unfamiliar about where and when they currently are existing in real-time. This demeanor is often characterized by a person being unable to recognize familiar faces and be erratic in interrelationships.

3. Other cognitive challenges
Challenges may include a diminished capacity for a patient to run their life independently. It can often include a loved one having to decrease their work hours to devote time to take care of the patient or having to hire a caretaker. Patients may have to retire early or be laid off as their thinking power is not of the same level to function as a viable resource to their company. It can also lead to erratic changes in mood and behavior which can make it stressful for loved ones to tolerate and adjust to their changed demeanor.

4. Speech issues
Speech impediments influence a patient’s capability to vocalize sounds and communicate verbally. Often, patients are just unable to pronounce a word that was familiar to them. The reasons for just speech issues can be muscle deterioration, cerebral damage, and other diseases.

5. Misplacing personal items
Some patients even go to the extent of stashing or burying items to avoid caretakers having access to these items – an attempt of the patient to regain some control of their life that may seem to the patient as being regulated by their caretaker. One suggestion is to establish a box, cabinet, or drawer that is only accessible to the patient and thus, can be their safe place to keep their personal or precious belongings. If items are still being misplaced-especially those needed for routine use-then it is advisable to have a duplicate group of these items.

6. Poor judgement
This speaks to the incapability of delivering sound decisions. Patients exhibit a weakened ability to take the critical distance to assess the variability in different factors that would affect their decision-making. This can often be distinguished from the occasional wrong decision by the patient committing a series of bad decisions that are often shocking and out of character.