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Hairdressers' role on dementia
It is currently Dementia Awareness Week. There are an estimated 45,000 people in Wales with dementia. Hairdressers in Gwent are being encouraged to follow one salon's example by raising the issue of dementia with their older customers.
Live updates
- Hannah Thomas
Hairdressers 'can provide advice on dementia'
Welsh actress Ruth Jones has today spoken of her family's battle to understand the onset of her mother-in-law's Alzheimer's disease.
It comes as a campaign is launched to raise more awareness of dementia. It is aimed at businesses like hairdressers, in the hope that they can provide customers with advice on where to go for help, if they think they have it.
With an ageing population, Alzheimer's Society says that the number of dementia sufferers could rise by 40 percent in the next decade.
Ruth Jones on her family's experiences with dementia
Welsh actress Ruth Jones is fronting Alzheimer's Society Dementia Awareness Week.
Her mother-in-law Margaret had dementia and she describes her family's experiences in a film made with ITV's Daybreak.
Ruth says: "noticing the gradual decline in her memory and her ability to deal with the day-to-day, that was the most upsetting thing."
"Talking changes everything - it makes the problem less scary - and we all can club together to deal with it."
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Dementia Awareness Week aims to get people talking
It is currently Dementia Awareness Week, running between 19 and 25 May this year.
Alzheimer's Society says it simply wants to get people talking about dementia.
It is using the hashtag #TalkDementia on Twitter, as part of the campaign.
The charity has an online forum for people to talk to others about dementia and tips about how to raise awareness.
It has also launched 'Five things you should know about dementia': it is not a natural part of ageing; it's caused by diseases of the brain; it's not just about losing your memory; it's possible to live well with dementia; and there's more to a person than dementia.
New initiative to encourage people to talk about dementia
There's an estimated 45,000 people in Wales living with dementia and over the next 10 years, that figure is expected to rise to 56,000.
In a bid to raise awareness and get people talking about dementia, Alzheimer's Society is launching a new initiative to get hairdressers in Gwent to raise the issue with their customers and provide them with information.
The charity is holding a range of events to mark Dementia Awareness Week.