How do you tell the difference between the normal signs of ageing and dementia?

That’s the question Oxfordshire residents are being asked by health officials as they visit elderly relatives this Christmas.

Experts said the festive period provided the ideal time to spot the symptoms of dementia in loved ones.

Figures from the Department of Health suggest 64 per cent of the 7,000 dementia sufferers in Oxfordshire have no formal diagnosis.

And only a third of people know the difference between normal signs of ageing and dementia.

The Alzheimer’s Society’s area manager Chris Wyatt said: “We know that people fear getting a diagnosis and family members find it difficult to face too. A lot of people think a diagnosis of dementia means their world is ending, but they can go on to live a full life for many more years.

“We want to encourage awareness and early diagnosis to help people gain understanding.”

Over the festive period, families spend more time together, often with family members they haven’t seen for a while, she said. This can be an opportunity to notice differences in behaviour and memory.

Mrs Wyatt added: “A lot of people find it scary to talk about, it’s not a diagnosis anyone wants to hear, but early diagnosis is the best thing for everyone.”

Research showed 26 per cent of people in the South East would be too embarrassed to raise the subject, while another 50 per cent would be too afraid of upsetting the family member in question.

Glynne Thompson, 62, is a full-time carer for her husband Ken, 72, at their home in south Oxfordshire.

He was diagnosed with vascular dementia when he was 57 after they noticed changes in his behaviour.

She said: “Younger people are very good at hiding the symptoms and that’s what he did.

“But he would ask the same question about eight times and he became obsessed, always asking where his shoes were.

“And then he stopped reading. He’d always read five books a week, but then all of a sudden he stopped. I don’t think he could keep up with the story.”

Pamela Foynes, 67, from Weirs Lane, Oxford, lost her husband John 18 months ago. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease five years earlier.

She said: “We could tell something wasn’t right. He kept forgetting things and asking me the same questions.

“And then I had to start hiding his clothes, because he would get up in the middle of the night and put them on.”

She added: “It’s difficult for the family, there are times it breaks your heart. I had to keep thinking ‘that’s not my John’.

“But he’d always remember to say ‘good night, God bless, I love you’ before he went to sleep. I miss him every day.”