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Three Early Signs of Dementia

So, it’s a Saturday and you have just taken your mom out for a nice lunch.  Your elderly mom however cannot remember where she put her checkbook.  And, she tripped a couple times as you brought her back to her house.  You also noticed that she seemed distant at lunch, and you caught her staring off into nowhere several times.

None of these things should be a cause for alarm, right?  Geez, even I misplace my car keys about once a day.  However, as our parents and loved ones age, the occurrence of these events could be early signs of dementia depending on their frequency.

Many times family members aren’t aware of the early signs of dementia, so they can easily be overlooked and/or dismissed.  That’s why as a in-home care company who sees patients and their families dealing with this awful disease everyday, FirstLight Home Care would like to share with you with a few early signs of dementia that you can be on the look out for with your parents and loved ones.

Frequent Falling*

Constantly tripping over your own two feet? Everyone falls now and again — but frequent falling could be an early signal of Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research. The researchers, who presented the study at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Paris, looked at brain scans of 125 older adults and also asked them to keep track of how often they slipped and stumbled during an eight-month span. The results? Those participants who showed early signs of Alzheimer’s also happened to fall down more often.

Staring*

“Reduced gaze” is the clinical term for the dementia symptom that alters people’s ability to move their eyes normally.  People showing early signs of dementia look like they’re staring a lot.  They try to read, and they skip lines. This is one of the signs of dementia that the patient might not completely be aware of, although people around them probably will be.

Losing Knowledge*

Now and again, most people find themselves desperately searching for the right word. In fact, failing to find the word you are thinking of is surprisingly common and not necessarily a sign of dementia. But losing knowledge of objects — not just what they are called, but also what they are used for — is an early dementia symptom. Oddly enough, people who are losing this knowledge can be very competent in other areas of their lives.

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