The 7 Dementia Stages And What They Mean

Various problems relating to language, problem solving, judgment, attention and memory can be caused by Dementia, term used to describe a number of different cognitive illnesses.

The different Dementia stages are characterized by symptoms of progressive cognitive and other decline and may generally advance in the following manner.

As per the 7 Dementia stages:

1. During the first of the stages, there may be no outward sign or symptom of any kind of decline in the person. At this time there is no evidence of impairment and nothing untoward may be noted by a health care professional either.

2. During the second of the stages, there could be very mild cognitive decline that manifests in memory lapses. A person may forget names, search for words, forget where they’ve placed common objects; however at this stage as well, there may be no evident sign of dementia.

3. Stage 3 may be the first of the dementia stages when people around start to notice something amiss. The person may not remember names of people they are introduced to; may have problems concentrating and so on. Their performance at work may show change that may be noticeable. They may start to lose things, even valuable ones and their ability to organize and plan may deteriorate.

4. In Stage 4 moderate cognitive decline will be noted, with deficiencies fairly easy to spot. The person may find recent events or current events to be the problem. Abstract thinking, complex math, challenging organizational tasks requiring planning may become difficult or impossible. A social withdrawal and hesitancy is usually noted at this stage.

5. In the fifth of the Dementia stages moderately severe cognitive decline is seen.  Here sufferers may need assistance with daily activities since they may have problems with simple things like remembering the way home, their current address and even problems with past events such as name of college, school and so on. There may be confusion with regard to day and date, even the season and the person may start to show poor personal grooming and may dress inappropriately. Common functions like bathing and using the toilet could cause problems and even less challenging math is not possible.

6. This Dementia stage is that of severe cognitive decline, when person’s personality itself seems to change. Practical problems such as wearing the right shoe on the wrong foot, disturbances in waking/sleep cycle, going to the toilet, wiping, and even incontinence may be seen. Delusions and hallucinations, repetitive actions, belief that a care giver is an impostor and such problems can make their appearance at this time. Wandering around and getting lost are also common at during this of the Dementia stages.

7. During the last of the stages, there is very severe cognitive decline. At this stage, the person becomes unable to respond to the environment, communicate or even control movement. Recognizable speech rapidly deteriorates, and assistance in most areas of life is required. Walking may need support, muscles become rigid, and even swallowing is difficult in the final Dementia stages.