Dementia decline - video transcript
When you have dementia it is important that the condition and your physical health are monitored closely. Conditions such as a bladder infection, the flu or cold or even changes in medication can cause a rapid deterioration of symptoms in dementia. Find out about other conditions that can affect dementia in the video below.
Video transcript
Margaret
We've had good times and bad times. It's about, oh, eight years now since Anand was diagnosed, so we can't complain. But the bad times are more frequent. And some days, we just seem to hit a wall, and his mental state deteriorates and then gets slightly better. Well, what causes the huge trough? Is there anything that we can do to even things out?
Professor Susan Kurrle
When you have dementia, you have to look after your physical health. There are a number of conditions that can make the dementia worse quite quickly.
For instance, a bladder infection, the flu, the common cold, perhaps changes to the electrolytes in your blood, or even changes to the medications that you're taking.
They can all cause a deterioration and need to be watched fairly carefully by your general practitioner.
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Last reviewed: June 2021
