The Seven Stages of Dementia

http://healingbright.com/the-seven-stages-of-dementia-2/

The stages of dementia are as follows:

No impairment. At this stage, there are no obvious signs of dementia and people are still able to function independently. Very mild. Dementia signs are barely noticeable and simply appear to be the kind of forgetfulness associated with aging — such as misplacing keys but finding them again after some searching. Mild. At this stage, patients are “usually able to do basic activities of daily living,” says Shah — which means they can perform their daily routines, such as getting up, going to the bathroom, getting dressed, and so on, without difficulty. Symptoms of dementia at this stage may include: Some forgetfulness and memory loss Repetition Losing items without being able to retrace steps to find them Slight trouble managing finances, such as balancing a checkbook Confusion while driving Trouble managing medications Loss of concentration Moderate. At this stage patients have “trouble doing routine tasks that they always did, such as cooking, laundry, or using the phone,” explains Shah. Other dementia symptoms during this stage include: Trouble holding urine (incontinence) Increase in memory loss and forgetfulness Inability to use or find the right words and phrases Difficulty doing challenging mental math exercises, such as counting backwards from 100 by 7 Increase in social withdrawal Moderately severe. At this stage, dementia patients will need some assistance with their day-to-day activities. Symptoms of moderately-severe dementia include: Increase in memory loss, including inability to remember home address, phone number, or other personal details Confusion about location or chain of events Trouble with less challenging mental math exercises Needing help to select appropriate clothing for the climate, season, or occasion Severe. “Caregivers have to help a lot more with day-to-day activities” at this stage, says Shah. Dementia signs at the severe stage include: Needing help to get dressed Requiring help with toileting, such as wiping and flushing Wandering and becoming lost if not supervised Inability to recall the names of family members or caregivers, but still being able to recognize familiar faces Sleep disturbances Changes in personality or behavior, such as increased paranoia or even hallucinations Very severe. This is the final stage of the disease. Symptoms of dementia during this stage include: Loss of language skills Loss of awareness of surroundings Requiring help to eat Lack of control over urination Loss of muscle control to smile, swallow, or even walk or sit without support In order to determine your loved one’s stage of dementia, your doctor will ask a variety of questions of both the patient and the caregiver. These questions may include some mental tests. One frequently used screening tool is called the Mini-Mental State Examination, an 11-question exam that can help pinpoint cognitive decline on a scale of 0 to 30. In general, Shah says that a score between 14 and 26 points correlates to mild/moderate stage dementia and a score between 4 and 14 correlates with severe dementia.