Dementia, by itself is not a specific disease. It is a collective term used to denote a variety of symptoms that result in the loss of the normal functioning of the brain due to the damage caused to the brain cells. As a result, the person may not be able to perform his day-to-day activities independently. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60-80 percent of the cases and vascular dementia is the second most commonly occurring type and is usually the after-effects of stroke. Dementia is mostly prevalent in old people but is considered to be a normally occurring phenomenon. People have to know that Dementia, like any other disease also requires treatment.
The following are the common symptoms that can be noticed in people suffering from dementia:

·         Poor reasoning skills

·         Difficulty in handling money in shops

·         Forgetting familiar environments and names of people

·         Inability to do basic calculations and remembering vocabulary

·         Garbled speech

Early symptoms of dementia also known as cognitive impairment, are often not very prominent and can easily get unnoticed. Most of the times, later stages of dementia cannot be cured easily but when detected early, it can be reversed with cognitive treatments and medication.

The risk factors of dementia include:

·         Addiction to alcohol & smoking

·         Depression

·         Increased blood pressure, cholesterol & sugar

·         Sleep apnea

 

Proper care has to be taken while dealing with such patients and here are a few dos & donts:
1. Such patients might get aggressive with their statements. It’s better to not force the person into doing something unless and until it is unavoidable.
2. Most of the time, these patients may disown their place of stay and would want to go elsewhere even though they’ve been living there their entire life. Under such cases it is better to have ‘short’ conversations with them to make them feel safe. Remember that lengthy conversations to reason things out may not work most of the time.
3. There is a high chance of dementia patients repeating whatever they say. In such cases it is imperative that you stay calm and repeat your answers. Getting angry may intimidate them and make them feel more insecure.
References:

http://www.aplaceformom.com/bl og/2013-02-08-dealing-with-dem entia-behavior/

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/d ementia-guide/Pages/symptoms-o f-dementia.aspx