Which is worse to have dementia or Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's disease starts in the brain many years before symptoms start to show. Early symptoms are mild and so don't stop someone doing their normal everyday activities. It's only later that symptoms become severe enough to be called 'dementia'.

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What progresses faster dementia or Alzheimer's?

The speed at which dementia progresses varies a lot from person to person because of factors such as: the type of dementia – for example, Alzheimer's disease tends to progress more slowly than the other types.

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Do you live longer with Alzheimer's or dementia?

A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years. Vascular dementia – around five years. This is lower than the average for Alzheimer's mostly because someone with vascular dementia is more likely to die from a stroke or heart attack than from the dementia itself.

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Does all dementia turn into Alzheimer's?

Overall, know that Alzheimer's disease is a specific disease, while dementia is a general term for a group of similar diseases, of which Alzheimer's is one. In other words, every case of Alzheimer's disease is an example of dementia, but not every type of dementia is Alzheimer's.

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How can you tell if someone has dementia or Alzheimer's?

There is no one test to determine if someone has dementia. Doctors diagnose Alzheimer's and other types of dementia based on a careful medical history, a physical examination, laboratory tests, and the characteristic changes in thinking, day-to-day function and behavior associated with each type.

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Alzheimer's in the most common, but which dementia is the worst to have?

29 related questions found

What are the 5 warning signs of Alzheimer's disease?

10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's
  • Memory loss that disrupts daily life. ...
  • Challenges in planning or solving problems. ...
  • Difficulty completing familiar tasks. ...
  • Confusion with time or place. ...
  • Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships. ...
  • New problems with words in speaking or writing.

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What can trigger dementia?

Risk factors you can change
  • Diet and exercise. Research shows that lack of exercise increases the risk of dementia. ...
  • Excessive alcohol use. Drinking large amounts of alcohol has long been known to cause brain changes. ...
  • Cardiovascular risk factors. ...
  • Depression. ...
  • Diabetes. ...
  • Smoking. ...
  • Air pollution. ...
  • Head trauma.

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Is dementia hereditary yes or no?

Many people affected by dementia are concerned that they may inherit or pass on dementia. The majority of dementia is not inherited by children and grandchildren. In rarer types of dementia there may be a strong genetic link, but these are only a tiny proportion of overall cases of dementia.

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What should you not do with dementia?

I'm going to discuss five of the most basic ones here: 1) Don't tell them they are wrong about something, 2) Don't argue with them, 3) Don't ask if they remember something, 4) Don't remind them that their spouse, parent or other loved one is dead, and 5) Don't bring up topics that may upset them.

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What is the 5 word memory test?

Administration: The examiner reads a list of 5 words at a rate of one per second, giving the following instructions: “This is a memory test. I am going to read a list of words that you will have to remember now and later on. Listen carefully. When I am through, tell me as many words as you can remember.

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What is the 3 word memory test?

The Mini-Cog test.

A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.

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At what stage do dementia patients forget family members?

In stage 6 of dementia, a person may start forgetting the names of close loved ones and have little memory of recent events.

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At what stage do Alzheimer's patients sleep a lot?

Most often, significant changes in sleeping patterns are first seen in the middle stages of dementia. The most common sleep disorders that affect dementia patients are: Excessive sleeping, also known as hypersomnolence. Insomnia, which is the inability to fall or stay asleep.

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What is the most common cause of death in dementia patients?

One of the most common causes of death for people with dementia is pneumonia caused by an infection. A person in the later stages of dementia may have symptoms that suggest that they are close to death, but can sometimes live with these symptoms for many months.

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Does a person with dementia know they are confused?

In the earlier stages, memory loss and confusion may be mild. The person with dementia may be aware of — and frustrated by — the changes taking place, such as difficulty recalling recent events, making decisions or processing what was said by others.

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What are signs that dementia is getting worse?

What Are Signs That Dementia Is Getting Worse?
  • Wandering and becoming lost in a familiar neighborhood.
  • Repeating questions.
  • Difficulty with speaking, understanding, and expressing thoughts, or reading and writing.
  • Taking longer to complete typical daily tasks.
  • Hallucinating or experiencing paranoia or delusions.

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At what stage of dementia does aggression occur?

Aggression usually starts in the mid-stage of dementia. This is the time when other behaviours, such as hoarding wandering, and compulsive behaviour are also prone to develop. In most types of dementia, the aggressive symptoms occur when the patient becomes more dependent with daily activities.

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What scares people with dementia?

Dementia and feeling fearful
  • Fears are real. Things that may seem perfectly logical and normal to someone who doesn't have dementia can be confusing and even frightening to someone who does. ...
  • Hallucinations. ...
  • Memory and time-lapses. ...
  • Environment. ...
  • Not all fears are irrational. ...
  • Medication.

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What is the best thing to do with dementia?

Playing music, having objects to touch and interact with, and hand massage can all help people with dementia in the later stages. Playlist for Life is a music and dementia charity. It promotes how music with personal meaning can help people with dementia. You can find and listen to existing playlists, or make your own.

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Who is most likely to get dementia?

Age. The biggest risk factor for dementia is ageing. This means as a person gets older, their risk of developing dementia increases a lot. For people aged between 65 and 69, around 2 in every 100 people have dementia.

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Who usually gets dementia?

Age is the biggest risk factor: most people with dementia are older than 65 and the likelihood increases as people get older into their 80's and 90's. This tells us that older people are more likely to develop dementia than younger people.

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What are the 10 warning signs of dementia?

Ten warning signs of dementia
  • Dementia and memory loss. ...
  • Dementia and difficulty with tasks. ...
  • Dementia and disorientation. ...
  • Dementia and language problems. ...
  • Dementia and changes in abstract thinking. ...
  • Dementia and poor judgement. ...
  • Dementia and poor spatial skills. ...
  • Dementia and misplacing things.

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Does stress cause dementia?

The current evidence indicates that while chronic stress may play a role in the development or progression of dementia, it does not necessarily cause dementia. Hopefully, further research can begin to uncover what role stress plays in a person's risk of developing dementia.

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What is the number one trigger for dementia behavior?

Some of the more common triggers for dementia like a change in environment, having personal space invaded, or being emotionally overwhelmed may be easier to handle if you mentally practice your response before you react.

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What it means when a person with dementia says I want to go home?

Often when a person with dementia asks to go home it refers to the sense of 'home' rather than home itself. 'Home' may represent memories of a time or place that was comfortable and secure and where they felt relaxed and happier. It could also be an indefinable place that may not physically exist.

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