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My 87 year old Mom who is very sharp with everyday life has recently been seeing people sitting on her couch. She's certain they're real but can't figure out how they got into her house with the doors locked and the alarm set. Her daughter died over a year ago and she still can't believe it. She does not take any sleeping pills. The people she's seeing are complete strangers. Any suggestions?

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freqflyer's answer is the one that came to my mind, too. UTI, or other infections, have different symptoms in the elderly than in younger people. I had a uti and it just hurt. My mother had a uti and, OMG, she went nuts! So that is definitely something to check first and foremost!

Hallucinations are fairly common in dementia, but in most types of dementia they come late in the disease. One type where hallucinations may be the first symptom is Lewy Body Dementia. I'm not suggesting you mother has this, but if it continues and other more temporary causes are ruled out you might want to have a look at LBD symptoms.

In any case, consulting a doctor is the first step to take.
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TNT5197, have your Mom tested for an urinary tract infection... such an infection will make elders see things that aren't there, along with other strange events.

My Dad was recently seeing insects in his home and in his food. Turned out Dad had a lung infection, he's on antibiotics and slowly the bugs are disappearing.
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please check your house for carbon monoxide leaks ASAP!! either get someone to come and check her or get a detector as soon as you can. People who have carbon monoxide poisoning reportedly see ghosts because of an interaction of the chemical in the brain.
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Of course you will need to have her evaluated by her doctor to discover the cause. Here is an AgingCare article about hallucinations:

www.agingcare.com/articles/hallucinations-delusions-and-paranoia-151513.htm
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