As with any health condition, early diagnosis means that seniors have a chance to access treatment much earlier. With dementia, this can be especially important because it allows seniors to have more time to prepare and to make key decisions about their futures while they can. Learning the earliest signs of dementia allows families to recognize when further testing might be a good idea. Home care providers can offer additional support and also watch for some of these symptoms.
Personality or Mood Changes
Dementia causes cognitive changes, but it also causes mood and personality changes, too. Seniors who may have had a good sense of humor all of their lives may start to have more trouble with sarcasm or embellishment in conversations, for example. Seniors in the earliest stages of dementia might say hurtful things when they never might have in the past. These kinds of changes warrant a conversation with healthcare providers.
New Eating Habits
Lots of factors can cause seniors to change their eating habits, especially on purpose. But if seniors are suddenly changing their eating habits and it isn’t a deliberate choice, there might be more going on. Some of the changes that elder care providers can help families watch for might include no longer liking previous favorite foods, overeating, or no longer wanting to eat at all.
Compulsive Habits
Compulsive behaviors and habits, like overbuying certain food items or becoming obsessed about whether the stove is off or the door is locked, are something to look into further if they suddenly crop up. Everyone might occasionally worry about lost keys, for example, but being overly concerned about new habits usually has a cause. Sometimes seniors don’t even realize they’re doing these things.
Trouble with Vision
Cognitive changes also affect how seniors’ brains process visual input. They might experience balance problems as a result or have more issues with spatial relations. This could mean that seniors in the earliest stages of dementia start to bump into things more often or have more trouble gauging distance. When they reach for something, for instance, they might miss it.
Staring Into Space
Before the cognitive changes that come with dementia, seniors might not stare off into space during a conversation. As dementia starts to progress, seniors may find it more difficult to focus on habits like eye contact during a conversation. They may also stop what they’re doing and stare off into space without realizing that’s what they’re doing. It’s easy for seniors to lose a lot of time this way, which can be disorienting and frustrating when they wanted to do specific activities.
Changes in memory are often among the earliest symptoms that seniors experience when they are diagnosed with dementia. But those changes often come later in the disease’s progress than many people realize. Home care providers spend a lot of time with the seniors they care for, so they can help families to watch for signs that something is changing. This can make diagnosis that much easier and faster.
If you or an aging loved one are considering home care in Brookline, MA, please contact the caring staff at PlatinumCare+ today. Call (617) 237-0867.
PlatinumCare + was born out of the desire and passion to provide the very best home health care possible in Brookline, Dover, Newton, Needham, Watertown, Weston, Cambridge, Lincoln, Sudbury, Belmont, Boston MA, and surrounding areas.
All with decades of experience, Tim in IT Operations, Support, and Management, Brenda in Client Relations, Healthcare Services & Sales Management, and Anne in Healthcare as a Nurse Practitioner combined their skills to form what is now PlatinumCare +.
As immigrants to the US, all came from backgrounds where Healthcare for aging parents was a responsibility of the immediate family and the entire community. Aging, sick, or terminal community members were cared for physically, emotionally, and financially by family, friends, including strangers! This community approach, Healthcare with a difference, delivered with the utmost love, care, sacrifice, and passion, forms the basis of how PlatinumCare + grounds itself.
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