It’s not unusual to forget where you put your keys or glasses, where you parked or someone’s name. Memory changes are a normal part of aging – often annoying than serious. Memory loss that starts suddenly or that clearly interferes with how well you can function in daily life may be a sign of a more serious problem
- Dementia is a slow decline in memory, problem-solving ability, learning ability, and judgment. It may occur over several weeks to several months. Many health conditions can cause dementia or symptoms like it.
- Delirium is a sudden change in how well a person’s brain is working (mental status). It can cause confusion, changes in the sleep-wake cycles, and unusual behaviour. It can have many causes.
- Amnesia is memory loss that may be caused by a head injury, a stroke, a severe emotional event.
If your memory problems have started suddenly, you could have an underlying health problem – please tell us if this is happening to you, or if you are worried about it.
Temporary causes of confusion
- Alcohol and many prescription and non-prescription medicines can cause confusion or decreased alertness.
- Overmedicating, interactions between different medications and effects of withdrawal from medication
- Cold temperature exposure. It can lead to hypothermia.
- High temperature exposure. It can lead to heatstroke.
- Unexpected changes in your environment and routines.
- Decreased oxygen in the blood (hypoxia) from high altitude.
- Exposure to toxins (poisons), such as carbon monoxide.
- Read more about situational temporary confusion
Health problems that can cause memory issues
- Amnesia may be either short-term or permanent. It depends on what caused it.
- Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in people older than 65.
- Infections like urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, encephalitis, meningitis,
- Asthma or COPD which cause a decrease in oxygen in the blood.
- Cardiac problems that reduce blood flow like heart failure, coronary artery disease, and irregular heartbeats.
- Causes, symptoms and care of dementia, including when to call a doctor.
- Problems from diabetes.
- Kidney or liver failure because toxins are not being flushed out your body.
- Malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies due to difficulties preparing and eating food.
- Substance use disorders (Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome).
- Mental health problems, such as depression or schizophrenia.
- Thyroid problems like hypothyroidism, myxedema coma, and hyperthyroidism.
- A head injury
- Decreased blood flow to the brain during a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or a stroke.
- Sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis (late-stage) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
- A seizure disorder (epilepsy).
Don’t self-diagnose! Come in and talk to our team, so they can set up appropriate medical tests. It is safer to know and treat problems before they cause damage.
Caring for yourself when you have memory loss
Try these steps to help improve your memory no matter what your age!
- Focus your attention. Slow down, and pay full attention to the task you are doing now.
- Stick to a routine. Complete common tasks in the same order each time you do them.
- Structure your environment with lists, paper or digital calendars, alarms, or a phone app.
- Try memory tricks like repeating names, linking your PIN to a number that has personal significance.
- Find ways to reduce your stress.
- Review all of your medicines and dosages with our team or your pharmacist. Write down when confusion occurs.
- Have all of your prescriptions filled at the same pharmacy.
- Confusion, Memory Loss and Altered Alertness