Caring for Alzheimer's

teachingmum says:

Here are my Safety Tips for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease. Safety and preventing falls are the key concerns.
Home safety:
Rails in the bathroom, down front and back steps of the house.
Non slip mats in bathroom and wet areas.
Remove clutter. Don’t make the living room an obstacle course of sofas, rugs, and coffee tables for your loved one to move in and around just to get a drink from the kitchen.
Close off any areas that can be a danger to the patient. You can use child safety latches and locks to make many areas inaccessible, such as knife drawers in the kitchen.
Limit the use of some equipment in the home, such as the oven/stove, toasters, and knives.
Look for appliances that come with an automatic shut-off device. This can prevent fires and burns.
Check to make sure that smoke alarms are working correctly. Keep fire extinguishers throughout the home.
Vision:
Get your grandpa’s eyes tested first. They may need new glasses. Use brighter lights around the home. Try to have the same level of lighting throughout since changes in light levels can be confusing for some patients.
Use night lights, especially on the route from their bed to the bathroom or kitchen. Consider a sensor light in the bathroom they comes on automatically when a person enters the room. Often Alzheimer’s disease will make the person forget where the light switches are placed.

Food:
Make sure that the food in the refrigerator is fresh and not spoilt. People with Alzheimer Disease will often eat whatever they find regardless of the taste or condition of the food.

Shoes:
Non slip shoes with a good grip on the soles are best.

Aids:
Walking stick, shower chairs, walking frames, wheelchairs and one of those tools for picking up things without bending down.
Standing up correctly:
Your Grandpa may need to learn to stand up more slowly with support of a walking stick or frame. Especially getting out of bed or a chair. They need to do it in steps. Sitting forward first or sitting up in bed for a moment before standing up. They need to stand next, get their balance before moving forward.

Medication Check:
Check with your grandpa’s doctor to see if the medication they are taking may cause dizziness or tiredness at certain time of the day. Always make sure your loved one takes their medication while you are watching. You want to make sure that they are taking it and not missing a dose. Or worse taking two doses because they forgot that they had taken their medication.

Personal Alarm:
This might be a good idea if the person is living alone.

Phone:
A cordless telephone your loved one can have next to then in bed or watching television is a great idea.

I hope you found these safety tips helpful.
Also it may be time to look for adult day care or respite care. There will be a time in the future for permanent aged care. My Mom stayed at home for 3 years with Alzheimer’s with support services in the home and now has spent the last year in aged care. Good luck to you and it is good you are so kind thinking about your grandfather.

Cynnamon says:

My husband’s grandmother had Alzheimer and she was eventually a danger to herself as well as those around her.

It’s hard, but if you cannot have someone home with your grandfather 24/7 then you should start to look into centers or specialists that focus on Alzheimer patients. If you have a hard time covering costs then contact a local/non-profit organization or the Alzheimer’s Association.

The Alzheimer’s Association is toll-free anytime day or night at 1.800.272.3900.

The 24/7 Helpline serves people with memory loss, caregivers, health care professionals and the public.

They can help with:

* Understanding memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s
* Medications and other treatment options
* General information about aging and brain health
* Skills to provide quality care and to find the best care from professionals
* Legal, financial and living-arrangement decisions

I can empathize with how difficult this time is for you and how hard it may be for your grandfather. I hope you find a solution that will work best for the both of you.