We've all forgotten a name, where we put our keys, or if we locked the front door. That doesn't mean we have dementia. It's normal to forget things once in a while. However, forgetting how to make change, use the telephone, or find your way home are probably signs of a more serious memory problem, such as mild cognitive impairment, dementia or the early stages of Alzheimer's.
Serious memory problems such as dementia affect your elderly parent's ability to carry out everyday life activities such as driving a car shopping, or handling money. Signs of dementia or other serious memory problems may include:
- Asking the same questions over and over again
- Becoming lost in places you know well
- Not being able to follow directions
- Getting very confused about time, people and places
- Not taking care of yourself — eating poorly, not bathing or being unsafe
What is Dementia?
Dementia is not a specific disease. It is a term used to describe a collection of symptoms that can be caused by a number of different dementia disorders that affect the brain. People with dementia have significantly impaired intellectual functioning that interferes with normal activities and relationships. They also lose their ability to solve problems and maintain emotional control, and they may experience personality changes and behavioral problems, such as agitation, delusions, and hallucinations.
While memory loss is a common symptom of dementia, memory loss by itself does not mean that a person has dementia. Doctors diagnose dementia only if two or more brain functions - such as memory and language skills -- are significantly impaired without loss of consciousness. Some of the diseases that can cause symptoms of dementia are Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Huntington's disease, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Doctors have identified other conditions that can cause dementia or dementia-like symptoms including reactions to medications, metabolic problems and endocrine abnormalities, nutritional deficiencies, infections, poisoning, brain tumors, anoxia or hypoxia (conditions in which the brain's oxygen supply is either reduced or cut off entirely), and heart and lung problems. Although it is common in very elderly individuals, dementia is not a normal part of the aging process.