Health
Memory loss is one of the main symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia that is immediately noticed. This symptom progresses over time, causing a lot of suffering to the patient himself and his loved ones. However, in addition, there are a number of symptoms that appear much earlier than memory loss, scientists say, so they should be seriously considered.
Memory experts believe that doctors can sometimes miss some of the early signs of dementia because they pay more attention to memory loss, ignoring other important symptoms.
In fact, Spanish studies in 2011 showed that more than a third of adults who are predisposed to developing Alzheimer's disease at an earlier age (under 65) have these symptoms diseases, even if they do not yet develop memory loss. These same symptoms can also be seen in patients who develop Alzheimer's after age 65.
Of course, if you or your loved ones have any similar symptoms, you should be examined by a doctor, psychologist, or cognitive specialist.
Early Sign of Dementia #1: Personality Behavior Changes
A warm, friendly person you've known for a long time can turn into a grumpy. This may happen from time to time, but later on you notice that a person's character changes completely. A sociable person continues to joke and talk a lot, but he begins to say some inappropriate things or express strange claims. A man with good manners suddenly starts to swear a lot and rude. All these are examples of how personal traits can change, which precedes the patient's memory loss. It often happens that friends and family simply do not notice this, and later, when the disease begins to develop seriously, they remember that such changes really took place.
Early sign of dementia #2: Problems with completing some tasks
Problems with performing basic, well-known actions can sometimes be noticed by loved ones, and over time this sign may increase. For example, a person begins to have difficulty completing several tasks. A professional chef begins to avoid complicated recipes. The master simplifies his products. A person has difficulty following a certain plan or is unable to solve some tasks that he used to easily cope with, for example, finding a breakdown in a car, and so on.
Early sign of dementia #3: Vision and perception problems
Problems with perceiving depth or loss of orientation in space may precede memory loss. A person has difficulty driving a car or it is difficult for him to quickly climb the stairs. It is difficult for him to estimate distances or see color differences, which can lead to road accidents. In more complex cases of perception problems, a person begins not to recognize himself in the mirror or does not perceive his reflection in a store window.
Early sign of dementia #4: Language problems
Difficulty saying words or finding the right word may be noticeable to the patient himself before a friend and family notices more serious symptoms when a person has problems with a summary of what was heard or answers to questions posed. For example, a person who is experiencing such difficulties can stop in mid-sentence, choosing the right word. (Of course, this can happen to anyone, but if it is a sign of dementia, it happens quite often, although the patient himself does not even know that this is happening to him). A person may also start using expressions that are not quite familiar, such as “mouth cleaner” instead of “toothpaste” or “picture stick” instead of “TV remote”.
Early Sign of Dementia No.5: Social Self-Isolation
Before a person develops Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, they may notice changes, although they are unaware of what these problems may be related to. Many people are afraid if they feel they can't control their abilities as well as they used to be. People spend more and more energy on self-control, so they have less time to interact with others. It often happens that a person does not realize at all that he is beginning to move away from society, losing interest in communicating with friends and family, because he is very focused on everyday things.
Social isolation can also be associated with the desire to avoid the embarrassment or depression that people who are prone to dementia often develop.