The 10 Warning Signs of Dementia And What Ordinary Ageing Forgetfulness Looks Like Instead

It's not the forgotten name that changes a family. It's a forgotten relationship.

You smile when mum tells you the same story for the third time this week. You laugh when dad can't find his glasses again. It's just old age.

Sometimes it is.

But when talking about memory problems, most people associate forgetfulness with dementia. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Dementia initiates slowly with confusion that becomes an obstacle for someone in their daily life.

A once familiar street could become unfamiliar to someone, once known faces can become strangers, and speaking can become a frustrating task. Your own routine may seem to drift to chaos and when the confusion becomes unbearable to someone, it can become the collective confusion of the entire thought process, and perceptions of reality of that individual. Over time, this can shift someone's character and leave their personality unrecognizable.

The reality is that a slip up with remembering something does not directly translate to dementia, and growing older can bring memory issues as well.

This guide details how to recognize the 10 signs of dementia that may concern your loved ones, while detailing how these signs differ from everyday moments of forgetfulness, and how serious these signs warrant a trip to the doctor.

Why It Is Important

As we grow older, our brains undergo changes. Our speed of processing information begins to slow and it may take a bit longer to recall names. Our ability to multitask also becomes more difficult. However, none of those things are signs of dementia, and are completely normal for someone who has experienced life for 70 plus years.

Dementia, however, is when one experiences a decline in cognitive ability to such an extent that it hampers their everyday functioning and their ability to live independently. It is a collective term to describe a range of conditions but the most common type is Alzheimer's Disease, with the second most prevalent type being vascular dementia.

It, unfortunately, looks normal to the untrained eye from the outside, and this is the reason why it could take months or years for families to notice it.

Below are the 10 warning signs that most dementia associations and memory clinics use around the world, and their 'normal aging' counterparts.

The 10 Warning Signs

1. Memory Loss that Affects Daily Activities

• Warning sign: Relying on notes or family members to help remember things and more severe cases includes asking the same questions or forgetting important information, and repeating information.
• Normal aging: Forgetting names or appointments, and later remembering them.

2. Problems with Planning and Problem Solving

• Warning sign: Problems following a recipe, organizing monthly bills, and keeping a long-term routine.
• Normal ageing: Occasional mistakes in balancing a chequebook or following a recipe.

3. Problems with Carrying Out Routine Activities

• Warning sign: Inability to drive to a familiar location, working with a budget, or recalling the rules of a game.
• Normal ageing: Needing assistance to operate a new device or setting, from time to time.

4. Disorientation in Time or Place

• Warning sign: Losing track of days, seasons, intervals, and the location or method of travel.
• Normal ageing: Brief confusion about the day of the week and then remembering it.

5. Difficulty Understanding and Processing Images and Spatial Relationships

• Warning sign: Problems with reading, distance judgement, and colour/contrast perception, which can affect driving.
• Normal ageing: Changes in vision due to cataracts or age-related conditions, which are unrelated to cognitive decline.

6. Problems with Words in Speaking and Writing

• Warning sign: Interruptions in conversations with no idea on how to proceed, self-repetition, or word-finding difficulties, such as calling a "watch" a "hand-clock."
• Normal ageing: Occasional word-finding difficulties.

7. Putting Items in Strange Locations and Forgetting How to Find Them

• Warning sign: Putting items in unlikely or unusual locations and being unable to remember where they are, to the point of accusing other people of stealing.
• Normal ageing: Misplacing items from time to time and eventually being able to remember where they are.

8. Reduction or Deficits in Good Judgment

• Warning sign: Falling victim to scams and donating large amounts of money, or lack of proper personal grooming and cleanliness.
• Normal ageing: Making a bad choice every once in a while.

9. Social, Professional, or Recreational Activity Isolation

• Warning sign: Withdrawal from interests, leisure, or familial get-togethers because interacting in a conversation or an activity has become challenging.
• Normal ageing: Having a brief period in which they become apathetic to social engagements or family events, but remain involved overall.

10. Shifts in Behavior and Emotional State

• Warning sign: Emergence of unusual confusion, suspicion, fear, or anxiety, becoming upset easily in new or different situations, or when routines are out of order.
• Normal ageing: Having certain habits and becoming annoyed when a routine is disrupted, without any significant change in demeanor.

Overview of All 10 Signs

When noticing a lapse, it is important to look at it from a broad perspective and not from a singular standpoint. It is about the repeats of the lapse, whether it worsens over time, and whether it starts to erode a person's autonomy. A parent forgetting a name is nothing out of the ordinary, but a parent who cannot recall what the stove is used for or who becomes disoriented while on the way to a shop they have been going to for the last twenty years is showing signs of something that a physician should evaluate.

This is also one of the areas where families tend to feel the most guilt. Not because a symptom was missed, but because it has been explained away for such a long time. This is a completely normal reaction. Symptoms of dementia tend to develop over time, and in many cases, the people who are closest to the individual are the last ones to identify the changes because they observe them every day.

What Families Can Do

Look for patterns and not isolated events. One instance of forgetting a name is insignificant, but multiple occurrences of the same event is what a doctor needs. A brief record of the repetition of questions, the person becomes disoriented in places that are usually familiar to them, and the person no longer engages in their daily activities is what a doctor needs. A simple record of unusual events can be more helpful than relying on memory several months later for the first medical consultation.

The first priority of any environment that is accommodating to someone with cognitive changes is the safety of the individual. Daily routines can be kept if the environment is relatively the same day to day. Safety can also be enhanced through bathroom features that makes them safer and easier to use, and also makes the environment more cognitive to daily tasks. These features significantly reduce the risk of falling. AGEasy offers cognitive aids that allow the environment to maintain custom features of the room while increasing safety.

Your support has the positive effect of reassuring someone who is experiencing cognitive changes. Physical and mental disorientation of time and space can be distressing. This can be really concerning if a parent may wish to walk alone. The AGEasy Protec Smartwatch is designed to be a supportive and protective aid. This features GPS tracking, fall monitoring, and medication reminders and enhances cognitive aids in a safety and supportive way.

These devices do not provide diagnoses but do allow families to keep track of medications and routines, which is crucial as missed medication is typically a warning sign families first observe.

Avoid self-diagnosing (and panicking). Symptoms can easily lead to falling into either end of a spectrum, but neither is useful. Instead, it is best to obtain a cognitive screening from a geriatrician, neurologist, or memory clinic, as these are significantly more accurate than a checklist found on the internet.

When to See a Doctor

Make an appointment if you see any of the following, especially if you see multiple:

• The change is new and not a permanent personality trait
• The symptom has been getting progressively worse over weeks or months, not just a bad day
• If there is an impact to work, finances, driving, or self-care
• Other family members (besides you) have noticed it as well

In many cases confusion is something that can be treated and even reversed. Early diagnosis for conditions such as thyroid issues, vitamin deficiencies, adverse effects from medication, depression, and urinary tract infections in older adults can bring peace of mind.

For dementia, an early diagnosis is important to enable the patient access to treatment and the ability to participate in care planning and important legal and financial discussions.

The Real Question to Ask

The critical consideration is not "did they forget?" Forgetting things is common and expected. The focus should be whether the loved one is still engaged in the same routine and activities or is there something troubling that is developing below the surface? Families should focus on this and seek professional evaluation if there are any concerns.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should never be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have health concerns about yourself or someone else, it is advised that you visit your doctor or a memory care professional.