Spotting signs of dementia is important as a diagnosis can help a person understand what is happening to them and how to manage and live with the condition.
As a consultant psychiatrist, Dr Jaleel Mohammed’s job is to diagnose and treat mental health conditions.
While dementia affects people in different ways, he took to his TikTok channel to share five general signs of the condition to look out for – the fifth one being “very important”.
1. Short-term memory loss
People with dementia often have difficulty remembering things that have happened in the near past.
Dr Mohammed explained: “That means they might forget things that have happened earlier in the day or in the last few days.
“Lots of people with dementia will often forget what they had for breakfast or what they’ve done earlier in the day, but they might still remember things that happened years ago.”
2. Forgetting words
We can all forget words from time to time but people with dementia may start to forget simple words which they would usually use quite easily, said Dr Mohammed.
He added: “Because they have this word finding difficulty they may start to replace that word with other words, to the point where some of the speech doesn’t make sense.”
3. Disorientation in time and place
It’s very common with people with dementia to start to forget what day it is or what time of day it is.
Dr Mohammed advised: “People with dementia may start to get lost in familiar places which they could previously find their way around easily.”
4. Difficulty doing familiar tasks
This is another important sign where people with dementia start to forget how to do things they would easily do in the past, said Dr Mohammed.
He continued: “For example, people with dementia may forget how to send emails when they would previously do that with ease.
“Or they may forget how to use other things like kitchen utensils or household appliances.”
5. All of these things get worse slowly over time
Dementia tends to be a progressive disease, so it creeps up on people slowly.
Dr Mohammed said: “Symptoms will be relatively mild to begin with. Over the months and years they’ll get worse.”
If you’re worried about your memory, or think you may have dementia, it’s a good idea to see a GP.