It is not easy exactly to determine when this stage starts. There are a number of symptoms or signs that are associated with this condition. Some of the signs that have been confirmed by a series of medical studies are: poor judgement, loss of memory, poor communication and getting irritated easily amidst other signs and symptoms.
The person suffering from dementia is more affected by the behavioral and mental problems. When this disease starts to worsen then the individuals might neglect them and may also become incontinent and uninhibited. The behavior of the person suffering from dementia becomes restless, inappropriate and disorganized. Some people become so restless that they start wandering about by day and sometimes even at night. If dementia patients are put in circumstances that are beyond their abilities then there might be a sudden change of behavior and they might get angry.
There are three stages of dementia. In the first stage, the person suffering from it has an impaired concentration, deterioration of memory and an increasing tendency to anxiety and fatigue. The failure of memory is observed for one or two years as it is a relatively slow process. There are also speech disorders in people suffering from this disease.
In the second stage, the person is unable to carry on his/her regular routine. It also becomes difficult for them to change their clothes. In the third stage, the intellectual function of a person is grossly impaired. There is also a considerable disability of neurological function, unsteady gait and decreased muscle tone.
Many researchers have indicated that it is very helpful to indentify dementia as early as one could. If it is diagnosed early then it helps the doctor to prescribe some cognitive enhancing medication such as Aricept. These kinds of medications might help to slow down the progression and hold off severe kind of symptoms which accompany the advanced stages of dementia.
Early stage of dementia has following features. The person who is suffering from early stage of dementia experiences some safety and functional impairments due to cognitive changes. The cognitive changes directly impact the ADL and IADL safety and performance of the person.
The patient at times may develop suicidal thoughts that if not considered may revert to a tragedy. The patient should be made to feel secure and encouraged to stay within the confines of a comfortable and non distressful environment. In case the patient is burdened with his/her daily scheduled, it is advisable for the patient to be relieved from duties that only worsen his/her condition. Whatever that threatens the patient peaceful state of mind must be done away with without compromising of other life dimensions.
There are many causes and kinds of dementia that often show slightly different symptoms however, the symptom overlap makes it impossible to diagnose this kind of disease by symptomatology itself. The diagnosis is done by the brain scanning techniques. In some cases one is not sure about it without a brain biopsy or an autopsy.
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