Dont Talk Around A Person With Dementia As If He Or She Isnt There
Try this with a friend to see how it feels, ask them to speak for and about you. It will make you feel like a non-person. It will make you feel like there is no point in you being there. It will make retreating into yourself or lashing out feel like the only options. That is the last thing we want for our loved one with dementia. Join in their reality and bring them into yours.
Natural Remedies For Dementia And Alzheimers Treatment Option #: Omega
Omega-3 fatty acids are yet another fat that are incrediblyhealthy for the brain and nervous system. They contain the EPA and DHA essentialfatty acids, which help to prevent brain cell damage and keep the nervoussystem in peak working order. And they dont just help to slow down the progressionof dementia diseases such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons either, theyalso help to lower ones risk of developing the disease in the first place.
Best sources of omega-3s are fish oil, cod liver oil andkrill oil. Krill oil is probably the pick of the bunch because it contains asubstance calledAstaxanthin, which is a potent brain foodand has been shown in studies to help prevent neurodegeneration of the brain.
Natural Alzheimers Treatment #: Sleep
Research indicates there is a strong link between cognition and sleep. Studies into sleep deprivation show that healthy adults losing even one-third of a normal nights worth of sleep can suffer severe short-term memory loss, comparable to cognitive impairment seen in dementia. Those diagnosed with Alzheimers disease and related dementias can suffer even greater consequences when their sleep is disturbed, making normal dementia symptoms worse. Normally, sleep disturbances are common side effects of dementia, so this problem can be quite complicated for an elder with dementia as well as their caregiver.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been shown to improve symptoms of insomnia as well as depression in elders, the main benefit of therapy being education about good sleep hygiene. Elders and their caregivers both benefit from CBT for stress relief and insomnia.
Another useful tool to help regulate our circadian rhythms as we age is bright-light therapy , where bright lights are viewed by the person with insomnia at certain times of day in order to prompt the body into picking up a healthy circadian rhythm. Exercise is also a great way to improve sleep, with research showing that regular aerobic exercise is one of the best ways to naturally regulate sleep.
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Natural Remedies For Dementia And Alzheimers Finalword
So there you have our top 10 natural remedies forsuccessfully treating and reversing dementia and Alzheimers disease. But dontforget that these remedies and recommendations are also exactlywhat you need to be taking and following to prevent dementia from everaffecting you! . And like we saidearlier, you have nothing to lose by trying these treatments. We recommend youstart with #1 and then work your way down the list, using and utilizing as manyof the remedies as you or your loved one can. Expect to see some big resultswithin 3-6 months. It will, however, take at least 12 months for a full recovery so you must be patientand consistent with the daily application of these recommendations.
So what are you waiting for? Get going on this straightaway. We guarantee, the results are going to blow your mind! .
How To Slow Down Dementia: Treatment Options Therapies And Supportive Care
Many people are confused about whether Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia are treatable. The short answer?
There is currently no cure for dementia, says Ardeshir Hashmi, MD, section chief of the Center for Geriatric Medicine at Cleveland Clinic.
But, he says, a variety of treatment options can help manage symptoms, improve quality of life, and slow the progression of disease. Read on for Hashmis roundup of current dementia treatment options, along with his main takeaways for caregivers.
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Natural Alzheimers Treatment #: Nutrition
There have been extensive studies in recent decades, as well as centuries-old wisdom across the globe, that shows how many aspects of nutrition work to help those with memory impairment and dementia. Improving some symptoms of dementia may be as simple as adding a supplement to your daily vitamin regimen, but it could also involve making drastic changes to your diet like eliminating white sugar. The effectiveness of nutrition therapy varies from person to person, but its likely that you may see some benefit.
What Are The Different Types Of Dementia
Various disorders and factors contribute to the development of dementia. Neurodegenerative disorders result in a progressive and irreversible loss of neurons and brain functioning. Currently, there are no cures for these diseases.
The five most common forms of dementia are:
- Alzheimers disease, the most common dementia diagnosis among older adults. It is caused by changes in the brain, including abnormal buildups of proteins, known as amyloid plaques and tau tangles.
- Frontotemporal dementia, a rare form of dementia that tends to occur in people younger than 60. It is associated with abnormal amounts or forms of the proteins tau and TDP-43.
- Lewy body dementia, a form of dementia caused by abnormal deposits of the protein alpha-synuclein, called Lewy bodies.
- Vascular dementia, a form of dementia caused by conditions that damage blood vessels in the brain or interrupt the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.
- Mixed dementia, a combination of two or more types of dementia.
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Develop Helpful Daily Routines
Having general daily routines and activities can provide a sense of consistency for an Alzheimers or dementia patient and help ease the demands of caregiving. Of course, as your loved ones ability to handle tasks deteriorates, youll need to update and revise these routines.
Keep a sense of structure and familiarity. Try to keep consistent daily times for activities such as waking up, mealtimes, dressing, receiving visitors, and bedtime. Keeping these things at the same time and place can help orientate the person with dementia. Use cues to establish the different times of dayopening the curtains in the morning, for example, or playing soothing music at night to indicate bedtime.
Involve your loved one in daily activities as much as theyre able. For example, they may not be able to tie their shoes, but may be able to put clothes in the hamper. Clipping plants in the yard may not be safe, but they may be able to weed, plant, or water.
Vary activities to stimulate different sensessight, smell, hearing, and touchand movement. For example, you can try singing songs, telling stories, dancing, walking, or tactile activities such as painting, gardening, or playing with pets.
Spend time outdoors. Going for a drive, visiting a park, or taking a short walk can be very therapeutic. Even just sitting outside can be relaxing.
Why Someone With Dementia Asks To Go Home
Alzheimers and dementia damage the brain and cause a person to experience the world in different ways.
So, what we hear as I want to go home is often a request for comfort rather than literally asking to go somewhere.
The kindest thing to do is to meet them where they are, focus on comfort and reassurance, and respond to the emotions behind their request.
The goal is to reduce your older adults anxiety or fear so they can let go of the idea.
Helping them to calm down also gives you a chance to check ifdiscomfort, pain, or a physical need is causing this behavior.
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Repetitive Speech Or Actions
People with dementia will often repeat a word, statement, question, or activity over and over. While this type of behavior is usually harmless for the person with dementia, it can be annoying and stressful to caregivers. Sometimes the behavior is triggered by anxiety, boredom, fear, or environmental factors.
- Provide plenty of reassurance and comfort, both in words and in touch.
- Try distracting with a snack or activity.
- Avoid reminding them that they just asked the same question. Try ignoring the behavior or question, and instead try refocusing the person into an activity such as singing or âhelpingâ you with a chore.
- Donât discuss plans with a confused person until immediately prior to an event.
- You may want to try placing a sign on the kitchen table, such as, âDinner is at 6:30â or âLois comes home at 5:00â to remove anxiety and uncertainty about anticipated events.
- Learn to recognize certain behaviors. An agitated state or pulling at clothing, for example, could indicate a need to use the bathroom.
Top 27 Natural Home Remedies For Dementia Patients
1. Water
Adults should drink 2-3 liters of water every day. Water helps to balance body heat and eliminate toxins from metabolism and industrial life. Your brain will grow stronger naturally. Water cleanses the skin, filters the kidney, and stimulates your appetite, so it energizes you and helps you to be healthier and more alert. This is actually what patients with dementia need.
Drinking plenty of water also helps you avoid unhealthy drinks like soda and high calorie fruit juices. The body only recognizes these unhealthy drinks, and then you will also require more calories. If you want more flavor, you can squeeze a few drops of lemon or pure fruit juice into the water to drink. However, be sure to use foods rich in calcium such as cauliflower to help keep your bones healthy. This is very necessary, especially as your age grows. Always carry a bottle of water. You will be surprised how easy it is to drink 1.5 to 2 liters of water a day. Drinking water is also much cheaper than having to buy other drinks when you feel thirsty, and this is better for the environment.
The effect of this connection leads to improved cognitive abilities, resulting in improved memory after drinking green tea. Scientists have also shown that green tea is good for the brain. They found beneficial effects of green tea with cognitive function. However, active ingredients that increase cognitive ability of green tea have not been found.
2. Walking
3. Diet Changes
Foods to eat:
Foods to avoid:
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New Study: Light Could Be Used To Treat Dementia
Infrared light therapy could potentially be used to help people living with dementia, scientists have said.
A pilot study used a helmet to beam the light into healthy volunteers’ brains and found improvements in their memory, motor function and processing skills.
The research team, led by Dr. Paul Chazot of Durham University and Dr. Gordon Dougal, say transcranial photobiomodulation therapy could benefit people with dementia, according to Sky News.
In the study, published in the journal Photobiomodulation, Photomedicine And Laser Surgery, 14 healthy people aged 45 and over received six minutes of PBM-T at a wavelength of 2068 nanometres twice a day for a month.
Tests on both groups revealed a significant improvement in performance in motor function, memory and brain processing speed in those who used the real helmet compared to those who were given the dummy helmet.
Dr. Chazot, who has spent 20 years studying particular infrared wavelengths for dementia treatment, said: “While this is a pilot study and more research is needed, there are promising indications that therapy involving infrared light might also be beneficial for people living with dementia and this is worth exploring.”
Dougal devised the £7,250 PBM-T helmet. It delivers infrared light deep into the brain from 14 fan-cooled LED light arrays. He said the helmet “may well help dying brain cells regenerate into functioning units once again”.
Tips For Everyday Care For People With Dementia
Early on in Alzheimers and related dementias, people experience changes in thinking, remembering, and reasoning in a way that affects daily life and activities. Eventually, people with these diseases will need more help with simple, everyday tasks. This may include bathing, grooming, and dressing. It may be upsetting to the person to need help with such personal activities. Here are a few tips to consider early on and as the disease progresses:
- Try to keep a routine, such as bathing, dressing, and eating at the same time each day.
- Help the person write down to-do lists, appointments, and events in a notebook or calendar.
- Plan activities that the person enjoys and try to do them at the same time each day.
- Consider a system or reminders for helping those who must take medications regularly.
- When dressing or bathing, allow the person to do as much as possible.
- Buy loose-fitting, comfortable, easy-to-use clothing, such as clothes with elastic waistbands, fabric fasteners, or large zipper pulls instead of shoelaces, buttons, or buckles.
- Use a sturdy shower chair to support a person who is unsteady and to prevent falls. You can buy shower chairs at drug stores and medical supply stores.
- Be gentle and respectful. Tell the person what you are going to do, step by step while you help them bathe or get dressed.
- Serve meals in a consistent, familiar place and give the person enough time to eat.
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What Are The Symptoms
Usually the first symptom is memory loss. Often the person who has a memory problem doesn’t notice it, but family and friends do. As dementia gets worse:
- You may have more trouble doing things that take planning, like making a list and going shopping.
- You may have trouble using or understanding words.
- You may get lost in places you know well.
Over time, people with dementia may begin to act very differently. They may become scared and strike out at others, or they may become clingy and childlike. They may stop brushing their teeth or bathing.
Later, they cannot take care of themselves. They may not know where they are. They may not know their loved ones when they see them.
Planning For The Future
- Talk to the person with dementia to make sure that they have a current up-to-date will that reflects their wishes.
- Encourage the person with dementia to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney so that a responsible person can make decisions on their behalf when they are no longer able to.
- Talk to the person with dementia about making an advance decision to refuse certain types of medical treatment in certain situations. It will only be used when the person with dementia has lost the capacity to make or communicate the decision in the future.
- If the person youre caring for has already lost the ability to make or communicate decisions but doesnt have an LPA, you can apply to the Court of Protection who can make decisions on behalf of that person or appoint someone else to do so.
If the person you care for drives, the law requires them to tell DVLA about their diagnosis. A diagnosis of dementia doesn’t automatically mean someone has to stop driving straight away – what matters is that they can drive safely. Talking to the person you care for about stopping driving can be very sensitive.
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Spend Time With Your Partner And Children
Caring for someone with dementia can quickly become the focus of attention for the household. Young children and spouses can feel excluded and left behind. Take time to schedule activities for just the family. A family member or professional caregiver can stay with your loved one and bring special activities so it is a fun evening for him or her as well.
- Create a family calendar. This should include not just appointments, but fun activities centered on togetherness.
- Find a support system. Being the primary caregiver doesnt mean one has to be the only caregiver. Create a tag team and let other family members get involved.
- Talk things through. Shine a light on the factors that may stress relationships by holding a family meeting.
Planning For The Future: Tips For Caregivers
Making health care decisions for someone who is no longer able to do so can be overwhelming. Thats why it is important to plan health care directives in advance. To help plan for the future, you can:
- Start discussions early with your loved one so they can be involved in the decision-making process.
- Get permission in advance to talk to the doctor or lawyer of the person youre caring for, as needed. There may be questions about care, a bill, or a health insurance claim. Without consent, you may not be able to get needed information.
- Consider legal and financial matters, options for in-home care, long-term care, and funeral and burial arrangements.
Learning about your loved ones disease will help you know what to expect as the dementia progresses and what you can do.
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Do Create A Calm Environment
Think about all of the different stimuli in your home. Is there a TV on? How many objects give audio alerts ? While it can be soothing to have one source of entertainment on, overlapping noise and alerts can pull us out of the moment and distract us causing confusion and frustration.
Make sure that the home environment is visually and audibly quiet and at a comfortable temperature. Remove visually confusing clutter and fabric patterns. The calmer the sensory input, the more you can reduce confusion and frustration.
Prioritize Healthy Lifestyle Habits
Your loved ones dementia may feel out of your control, but you can help him or her do things that slow the progression of the disease. Assess your parents current lifestyle to determine where changes could be made to increase blood flow to the brain and keep the mind active. For instance, your loved one may need to do some light exercise each day to remain active or socialize more often to retain his or her language abilities.
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