Is Dementia Contagious?

Is Dementia Contagious?

All caregiving is stressful. We help caregivers slow up the stress of taking care of family members with dementia, but we can not avoid it. Both most typical outcomes of caregiver stress are increased illness (reduced potential to deal with disease) and depression.

Research conducted recently done at McGill University in Montreal found that untreated depression can result in dementia. In other words, in some situations you can catch dementia from your loved one.

Depression in caregivers is more common and long-lasting compared to other caregiver situations.

Scientists speculate this happens because, normally, dementia caregivers provide take care of a considerably longer time period than do any other caregivers.

Below are nine questions your physician might ask you if he suspected depression. You might have a depressed mood (not true depression) if you have even just one symptom, but if you have five or more symptoms you qualify for a diagnosis of major depression.

Do you have:

A persistent sadness or general unhappiness
Chronic fatigue or lack of energy
A lack of interest in activities you used to enjoy
Consistent irritability or consistently feel agitated
A progressive change in your appetite or your weight
A big change (not brought on by the one you love) inside your normal sleep pattern
Feelings that you're worthlessness or else you feel excessive or inappropriate guilt
Difficulty concentrating or feel you are not thinking clearly
Any thoughts of ending it all or committing suicide


If you feel you have more than five of the above symptoms you might want to do a quick self test on your memory. As you physician once explained "If you cannot appear to keep an eye on your keys your probably just getting older, but if you can't remember what keys are you may have dementia".

Here are some questions you can think about to determine in places you fall about the memory scale. Have you got:

Difficulty remembering things a lot more often than you accustomed to
Difficulty remembering how to do things you've done many times before
Difficulty learning new things
Experiences where you repeat phrases or stories in the same conversation
Trouble making choices or handling money
Difficulty monitoring what goes on every day

Caregivers who do not get assistance to resolving depression could get dementia. Should you answered "yes" to a lot more than three from the above questions you might be experiencing abnormal loss of memory. Consult your physician with these test scores and ask his opinion. Both depression and dementia can be reversed. Often they are symptoms of vitamin deficiency, sleep disorders, medication unwanted effects, or just stress. Your personal doctor will help you sort them out.