Hallucinations often occur in people with dementia. It's not clear if this means the dementia is getting worse. But most dementia does worsen over time.
If a person with dementia has hallucination, it's important to rule out delirium. Delirium is a state of mental confusion characterized by disordered speech and often hallucinations. Unlike dementia, delirium is a severe but temporary state of mental confusion. Causes of delirium include:
- Heart disease
- Lung disease
- Drug interactions
- Hormone disorders
- Poor nutrition
Hallucinations are also a feature of some types of dementia, such as Lewy body disease.
If the hallucinations don't distress your father-in-law, his doctor may advise that you simply tolerate them. If they trouble your father-in-law or his caregiver, it's important to determine the cause of the hallucinations. Those caused by delirium usually go away with treatment of the underlying cause. When hallucinations are a feature of dementia, certain medications may help. But determining the type of dementia is also important. Some types of medications can worsen symptoms of Lewy body disease.
