From Monday 20 May to Sunday 26 May, it is Dementia Action Week – a week that aims to raise awareness, take action and improve the lives of people living with dementia.
Currently, in the UK, there are 850,000 people living with dementia and this figure is set to rise to over one million by 2025.
Yet, despite this high figure, there is still a huge gap in our understanding of dementia, the symptoms and what it means to live with it.
Listed below are five common symptoms of dementia you should look out for:
Memory loss
It’s difficult to know when you should be worried about someone’s forgetfulness.
However, it can become more apparent when memory loss starts suddenly, as you may notice a loved one forgets about recent events but can recall memories from their younger years with complete accuracy.
Change in movement
This symptom is often overlooked, but dementia can cause people to isolate themselves as they struggle in social situations and as a result, their movement can become stilted and unpredictable.
Hoarding
This symptom is hard to recognise when you don’t see someone regularly but holding on to old items or stockpiling the same thing can suggest early signs of dementia.
Mood swings
Mood swings are one of the harder symptoms to come to terms with.
Those living with dementia struggle to process certain emotions, as they will often forget the memory that triggered the emotion.
For someone with dementia, that loop of where the annoyance has occurred isn’t closed, and they are left with that all day without an idea of why.
Loss of subtleties of language
A final symptom that is associated with dementia is a change in the way a person communicates.
This is linked to the change in memory, as those with dementia struggle to communicate effectively; they may get lost in conversations or struggle to recall the right words when discussing an idea.
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At Steene Law, we are passionate about making sure you get a fair deal. If you have a relative with care needs and you think that the fees seem unfair, you need to speak to us. Get in touch with one of our experts today.