Signs of dementia don’t always affect memory first (Image: GETTY)
Dementia is a progressive decline in cognitive function that is often associated with memory loss and confusion that becomes severe enough to impair a person’s everyday life and functioning. However, the condition affects a range of systems in the body that aren’t associated with memory at all.
Many early dementia signs are also dismissed as the side effects of normal ageing. Experiencing the warning signs can be ‘normal’ if it’s only one or two every now and then, but noticing these issues consistently could be something you need to speak to your GP about, according to Alzheimer’s Research UK, which urged people not to ignore the signs.
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Risky decisions
Dementia and Alzheimer’s can disrupt the frontal lobes, according to Alzheimer’s Research UK. This is the part of the brain that helps us do things like spotting potential scams and thinking through consequences before taking action on something.
An early sign of the condition can cause people to gradually develop poorer judgement or start making riskier decisions that simply aren’t like them. This can particularly put their money, safety and personal care at risk.
For example, they may start paying less attention to personal hygiene and grooming habits or start keeping themselves clean less. However, making occasional bad decisions like forgetting to make one monthly payment can be a sign of typical age-related behaviour, according to Alzheimer’s Association.
Social withdrawal
Other symptoms of dementia like struggling to find the right word or remember people’s names can make socialising harder to navigate. As a result of this combination of symptoms, a person with dementia might start withdrawing from their usual social activities to avoid these difficulties.
Following fast-moving conversations and dealing with noisy environments can also become more difficult to deal with, which may mean they struggle to keep up with their hobbies or teams.
However, it is normal to occasionally feel disinterested in family or social obligations as we age, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Vision issues
Some people living with dementia can experience changes in their vision and how they interpret the world around them. This can lead to a range of issues affecting reading, driving, judging distance and even figuring out what colour things are.
This can present in misjudging steps or kerbs that would usually not be an issue. However, the experts note that a number of vision changes can also be linked to typical age-related issues like cataracts.
There are over 100 different types of dementia and each can affect people differently. The NHS notes that the most common early symptoms that appear before a diagnosis include memory loss and difficulty concentrating.
People may also find it increasingly hard to carry out familiar daily tasks, find the right word they want to use, experience mood changes and losing track of days, times or places they are in.
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