Is It Dementia?

People with dementia typically have problems with short-term memory, such as keeping track of a purse or wallet, remembering to pay bills or keep appointments, or getting lost when traveling out of their familiar neighborhoods. Most forms of dementia are progressive, with symptoms that start out as minor errors that become progressively more serious, so many sufferers make excuses for early behavior, such as old age or simple forgetfulness, and symptoms aren’t addressed until the disease or cause is in a more advanced state. Even for incurable diseases, early detection is essential: It allows patients to get the maximum benefit from existing treatments or enroll in clinical trials and can offer them time to make a plan for the future.

The following 10 symptoms may be early warning signs of dementia. If you exhibit any of the following, a physician can conduct a range of cognitive tests to determine whether or not you may be suffering from dementia:

Memory Loss That Disrupts Daily Life

We all misplace our keys once in awhile or forget to turn off the stove burner or oven after finishing a meal. But memory loss that is disruptive to our daily lives is the most common warning sign of dementia. According to the Mayo Clinic, examples of this include forgetting recently learned information, relying heavily on reminder notes or electronic aids to remember appointments or important events, or asking for the same information over and over again.

Difficulty Communicating or Finding Words

Struggling to find the right word in a conversation isn’t necessarily something to worry about, but people suffering from dementia have greater difficulty in conversations or with vocabulary than they previously did. They may stop in the middle of a conversation and not be able to continue it, forget what was being discussed, or repeat themselves unnecessarily. They may also regularly have difficulty finding the correct word or call something, or someone, by the wrong name.