Early Warning Signs of Dementia

Millions of people in the United States suffer from dementia. According to the Alzheimer's Association, health-care costs for people with dementia are triple that of other people. While there is still no cure, the ability to identify the disease and plan for it can help patients and caregivers live without some of the stress and anxiety associated with dementia.

Memory

• Perhaps the most obvious sign of dementia is the loss of short-term memory. The patient will forget information he has acquired recently, such as phone numbers, appointments or people's names. Dementia patients also frequently misplace items and are unable to retrace their steps. Keys, purses, wallets, television remote controls and glasses are the types of things that can go missing every day.

Problem Solving

• Changing a light bulb can be difficult for a person with dementia.

  Dementia patients frequently take a long time to complete tasks or leave tasks unfinished. Chores such as changing a light bulb or balancing a checkbook can become extremely difficult or impossible for a person with dementia.

Time Confusion

• Ask a person who has dementia who the president is, and they will usually answer incorrectly.

  People with dementia frequently become confused about the day, month or even year. One of the classic tests to assess dementia is to ask who the president is. Usually, the dementia patient will answer incorrectly.

Vision

• A person suffering from dementia may suddenly stop reading, even after a lifetime of reading.

  Dementia patients often develop a problem with their vision. They may stop reading or watching television, or even have difficulty judging distance or recognizing their own face in a mirror.

Speaking

• Dementia sufferers may display a difficulty with words. They may forget a word, substitute another word with a different meaning, forget what they were saying or change topic mid-sentence.

Personality Changes

• Dementia patients usually experience changes in personality, either because they have trouble keeping up with other people, hobbies, or conversations and withdraw from situations. The realization that one is developing dementia will cause fear, anxiety and depression which will in turn cause the patient to seem irritable to their caregivers.