Symptoms of dementia
Every person with dementia is different. How dementia impacts you depends on which areas of your brain are most affected.
Signs and symptoms of dementia
Dementia is not a single disease, it is an umbrella term for a variety of symptoms caused by conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and around 100 other conditions that result in damage to the brain.
Common signs and symptoms of dementia include problems with cognitive function – this includes memory, decision-making and communication that progress over time, though many other symptoms are possible.
Symptoms will depend on the area of the brain that is affected and different types of dementia will affect people in specific ways, particularly in the early stages. As a result, everyone experiences dementia differently.
Keep reading this page to learn more about:
Early symptoms of dementia
Early symptoms of dementia can include memory loss and deterioration of other cognitive ability. This is sometimes referred to as mild cognitive impairment. Examples of this include problems with:
- memory loss
- reduced mental acuity
- difficulties with language
- difficulties understanding others
- changes in mood
This can result in difficulties doing daily activities such as:
- misplacing possessions like keys, a purse or wallet
- difficulty remembering words or people’s names
- forgetting to plan or prepare meals
- difficulty remembering appointments
- getting lost or confused outside
How do symptoms of dementia progress?
Because dementia is progressive, people living with dementia are likely to experience additional or more noticeable symptoms as time goes on. Naturally, this will increase the impact dementia has on the person’s day-to-day life and affect the level of care they may need.
Some dementia symptoms progress rapidly, while others occur over the course of months or years, it all depends on the type of dementia and the individual.
As dementia symptoms progress, the person living with dementia may experience the following:
Problems with memory:
These will be similar to memory problems experienced in the early stages of dementia but can become more frequent and apparent.
Problems with communication:
As difficulties with language and understanding progress, holding conversations can become more difficult.
Experiencing delusions and false beliefs:
While these are not always distressing, they can result in paranoia, such as thinking someone is stealing from them.
Visual or auditory hallucinations:
i.e. seeing or hearing things that are not there.
Increased disorientation with place and time:
Examples of this can be confusion around the age of family members, thinking people who have passed are still alive or not recognising they are at home.
Changes in sleep habits:
Disruption to the body clock can cause a person living with dementia to sleep more in the day and also have difficulty sleeping at night.
Restlessness:
This can manifest in the person walking around searching for someone or something. Care must be taken when restlessness results in leaving the house during the day or night.
Changes in behaviour:
Feelings of frustration or anxiety caused by the symptoms described above may manifest in irritability or apathy. However, it is important to remember that a person living with dementia may not recognise these changes in their behaviour and this may require extra patience and understanding from those who care for them.
As the symptoms of dementia progress, the person is likely to need more support with daily living, such as washing, dressing, eating and maintaining their home.
As dementia progresses to its later stages, symptoms will have become more obvious and have a greater impact on a person’s life.
Symptoms in the later stages of dementia
As dementia progresses to the later stages, the symptoms experienced by a person living with dementia will become more pronounced. Advanced dementia symptoms are likely to affect the health and wellbeing of an individual to the point they will need constant care and support.
The most common symptoms of advanced dementia include:
Increased disorientation:
This can progress to difficulty recognising their partner, children, family and friends.
Increased communication problems:
Some people can lose the ability to communicate verbally and have to rely on non-verbal means such as facial expressions, touch and gesturing.
Mobility problems:
The person may become increasingly frail and unable to walk unaided. This may require a wheelchair or other walking aid. With decreased mobility the likelihood of falls will also increase.
Physical health problems:
Bowel incontinence is common in the later stages of dementia. People also become more vulnerable to infections and find it harder to recover from illness or injury
Difficulties with eating and drinking:
This can range from problems swallowing to loss of appetite and weight.
Increased changes in behaviour:
As symptoms progress they will understandably cause distress and confusion to the person experiencing them. This can result in increased agitation, depression, anxiety which can, in turn, result in behaviour such as crying, pacing or shouting due to decreased ability to communicate clearly.
At this advanced stage of dementia the demands on a carer will also increase and it is likely the person living with dementia will require professional care from a home carer or in a residential care home.
Worried about dementia symptoms?
Most people forget things from time to time, but if you keep having problems with your memory and these are affecting your day-to-day life, it’s important to see your doctor. It could be caused by something that can be treated and any treatment you need may work better if it’s started early.
All of the following can also cause memory and communication symptoms similar to those in early stages of dementia:
- stress or anxiety (worrying about your memory can make it seem worse).
- having too many things on your mind.
- illness and infection.
- unhappiness and depression.
- bereavement.
- lack of sleep.
- noise or other distractions.
- vitamin deficiency or a thyroid disorder.
- the side effects of sleeping pills, sedatives or other drugs.
- overuse of alcohol.
- malnutrition
- perimenopause/menopause
- conditions such as mild cognitive impairment or a stroke.
- a minor brain injury after a bump to the head, or concussion.
- delirium.
- general anaesthetic.
- some infections, such as urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- problems with hearing or vision
Regardless of what is causing your symptoms, if they are affecting your day-to-day life, talk to a GP and they can run the appropriate tests and provide a diagnosis
Brain Health & Dementia Resource Centres
Alzheimer Scotland’s Brain Health & Dementia Resource Centres offer friendly, accessible environments for everyone to enjoy. Our Centres are designed to be dementia friendly and create a sense of homeliness which we know is important in helping everyone to feel at ease. Each Centre is also a base for our wide range of local groups and activities.