If your parent keeps forgetting things on a regular basis this is cause for concern. If they also display other symptoms along with this, such as spending more money than they normally would, struggling with conversation, or seeming depressed, then they may have a type of dementia. Below is some information about this so you can get your parent the help they need.

Types of Dementia

When you hear the word dementia this can be many different things. For example, Alzheimer's is a form of dementia. Lewy body dementia is another type.

Your parent will display different symptoms besides memory problems depending on the type of dementia they have. For example, with Alzheimer's, the disease comes on gradually and may not even be noticed by other family members in the beginning. Memory problems surface after time and then you may notice more concerning symptoms, such as misplacing things often, becoming disoriented in familiar places, and forgetting the names of family members.

Lewy body dementia has many of the same symptoms of Alzheimer's disease but someone with this also has symptoms like not being able to sleep, visual hallucinations, gait imbalance, and Parkinsons-like movements, such as shaking hands.

Treatment

No matter the type of dementia your parent has you need to take them to the doctor. Start out with their primary care physician who can refer your parent to a neurologist.

There is not one test that will determine that your parent has dementia. Because of this, the neurologist will perform a variety of tests.

They will first determine if there is another cause of their memory problems. For example, they may have a brain tumor, Parkinson's disease, stroke, or fluid building up on the brain. Once they determine your parent has none of these problems, the doctor will continue with other tests.

The doctor may start out with a memory test. For example, the doctor will say some words in the beginning of the test and ask your parent to remember them. Later in the test they will ask them to repeat those words. If they cannot then this is a sign.

The neurologist will have a conversation with your parent and ask them several questions. For example, they may ask them what day it is, how they came to the doctor's office, where they are currently at, and more. They will give them simple calculations to see if they become confused. The doctor will also do blood tests and perform a CT scan on your parent.  

Your parent's neurologist can go over this information with you in much more detail.