SOUTH West residents are being encouraged to stay vigilant for the signs of dementia.

Alzheimer's Society, the UK's leading dementia charity, is highlighting the importance for anyone who has regular problems with their memory or thinking to be assessed by a health professional, helping to dispel the common myth that symptoms are just a sign of old age.

One million people in the UK are living with dementia, but one in three don’t have a diagnosis. While a dementia diagnosis can be daunting, it's better to know. It can allow more time to plan for the future and unlock the door to treatment, care and support.

Each person experiences dementia in their own individual way. Different types of dementia also tend to affect people differently, especially in the early stages.

The charity has highlighted six signs that might be an indication of dementia:

Memory loss - For someone with dementia, problems with memory and thinking get worse quicker than they would normally do with age, with noticeable decline over a period of months as opposed to years.

Difficulty organising thoughts or staying focused - Familiar tasks they've done all their lives may start to get more difficult to do. They may also lose the ability to carry out tasks in the proper order, like trying to cook pasta before putting the water in.

Problems using words or communicating - As people get older, it's common to have trouble finding the right word occasionally. However, if someone is consistently struggling to communicate because they can't remember commonly-used words, or they are putting words together in a way that doesn't make sense, then this may be a sign that something is wrong.

Problems with vision - It's normal for eyesight to not be as sharp with age. However, some people with dementia have difficulty judging distances or seeing edges clearly, causing trips or falls. Dementia sometimes causes hallucinations or seeing, hearing or smelling things that aren't there. This is most common in people living with dementia with Lewy bodies.

Getting confused about where you are or what time it is - If someone finds themselves getting lost in a familiar place or being unable to find their way home, this can be a red flag. Some people also experience 'time shifts' – for example, a person may think they're still living in a previous home – particularly if it's one where they felt most 'at home'.

Changes in mood or personality - Nobody is expected to feel positive all the time but if someone is starting to become easily irritable, losing interest in things, or having extreme highs and lows, this may be a sign of dementia.

Alzheimer’s Society has an online symptoms checklist, endorsed by the Royal College of GPs, to help people describe their symptoms to their health professional, helping to get a vital dementia diagnosis or establish if there’s other contributing health conditions. 

Those who may be experiencing symptoms are encouraged to seek help and advice from a professional.