Enroll In Medical Alert Programs
Safety becomes more of a concern as dementia progresses. For peace of mind, consider enrolling in programs that can improve or monitor the safety of people with dementia. Many programs offer medical ID jewelry or 24-hour assistance if a loved one with dementia wanders off or becomes lost. If additional assistance is needed, medical alert services can help by checking in on loved ones and notifying caregivers if there is no response.
Make A Clear Path To The Bathroom
Many people 65 and older have to get up several times a night to use the toilet. To reduce the risk of a fall, clear a path from the side of the bed all the way to the bathroom. Install several lights along the pathway to make navigation easy. You might also want to consider putting a commode next to the bed.
Bedroom Modifications For Seniors With Alzheimers Disease
A seniors bedroom should be an inviting, comfortable place for them to retreat to. Sleep issues are a common symptom of many kinds of dementia, so it is important to provide an environment that will help them get as much quality rest as possible.
Adequate lighting should be provided for easy reading or television watching. Some dementia patients may develop a fear of the dark, so a nightlight placed in their room may help. Proper lighting should be available during nighttime hours as well in case your loved one needs to get up and use the bathroom. Be aware that dim lighting may cast shadows that can be misinterpreted by dementia patients brains and trigger hallucinations, especially in seniors who are prone to sundowning.
In some situations, a caregiver may need to learn how to help a loved one use a bedpan, urinal or bedside commode if nighttime trips to the bathroom are too difficult or unsafe. Purchasing a quality waterproof mattress protector and a few sets of linens is a good idea if a senior occasionally has overnight incontinence episodes. A communication system should be established for nighttime needs as well. Many caregivers use an intercom-type system, baby monitor, security camera or even a bell to address calls for help with transfers, toileting, dressing and other needs.
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Kitchen Modifications For Older Adults With Dementia
Along with bathrooms, the kitchen is another area of the home that poses many risks. Caregivers must keep a careful inventory of their loved ones cognitive abilities to ensure that the use of kitchen appliances is safe under any circumstance, but close supervision is always highly recommended.
Removing electrical equipment or appliances from both bathrooms and the kitchen area will help to reduce the risk of electrical shock. To prevent accidents, knives and cooking implements should also be stored in a safe, secure location. Something as innocuous as a blender may cause injury to someone suffering from cognitive decline.
Be sure to check the contents of the refrigerator regularly. In many cases, people in various stages of Alzheimers may be unable to distinguish between fresh and rotten food, or their poor judgement may lead them to believe that expiration dates arent important. Dulling senses of smell, sight and taste may be to blame as well.
For those with impaired vision, brightly colored plates, drinking cups, placemats and napkins often help entice patients to eat and help them choose the right utensils. Eating is actually a complex multi-step process that becomes overwhelming for many seniors with dementia. Smaller portions and easy-to-eat finger foods are better received by patients with moderate and severe Alzheimers disease.
Other Care In Late Stages Of Dementia
As your loved ones dementia advances to the late stages of dementia, new concerns arise.
Lifting and Moving Your Loved One
Lifting your loved one will eventually become necessary in the later stages of dementia. If your loved one is no longer able to move independently, it is important to use proper techniques to avoid injury.
Tips: Consult with a healthcare professional about proper ways to lift and turn your loved one. Moving your loved ones limbs and joints when he or she no longer moves independently is important to prevent joints from freezing up. Consult with a physical therapist or nurse to learn how to slowly move the arms and legs two to three times per day and other ways to maintain range of motion.
Pressure Sores
Once your loved one is confined to a chair or a bed for long periods of time, pressure sores become a potential concern. These sores are from the individual remaining in the same position for long lengths of time.
Tips: Changing your loved ones position, a minimum of every two hours reduces the risk of bedsores. Use pillows or pads to protect bony areas and make sure to keep your loved ones body properly aligned. Consult with a health care expert about your loved ones degree of mobility. Special mattresses and special types of bandages may be needed. It is important to treat pressure sores early and seek medical care if they do not heal.
Hospice
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Check Elder Care And Dementia Care Services In Your Community
There may be times when caregivers are not able to care for their loved one. If additional help is needed during the day, adult day care centers provide entertainment and care for people with dementia while giving much-needed breaks for their caregivers.
Home services are also available to give you more time in your day. Certified nursing assistants can visit your home to help with medical needs, such as administering medications or caring for wounds. If you need more help, in-home health aides can cover light housekeeping, cooking and other nonmedical needs. Some grocery stores and meal services can also assist by delivering food or meals to your home. Try exploring the options that are available to you.
Its important to ask your loved ones doctor or dementia care coordinator for local resources and contacts.
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However, most major forms of dementia including Alzheimers disease progress over time. This means that middle- and late-stage dementia symptoms pose different, more severe risks than early stages of the disease.
While different people will experience different symptoms, Alzheimers typically affects judgment, temperament, understanding of time and place, and physical abilities such as balance. These changes in both the brain and the body can complicate home safety for seniors.
Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control , the U.S. Fire Administration, and AAA all reveal that seniors have a greater risk of common accidents than the general population. Learn about six specific dementia and Alzheimers safety risks for seniors living at home so you can prioritize your loved ones safety.
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Finding Care And Support: Tips For People Living With Dementia
Many people may be able to help in different ways. These people might include family members, friends, professional caregivers, community organizations, and others with dementia. For example, you can:
- Ask friends or family to help with needs like cooking, paying bills, transportation, or shopping.
- If you live alone, find people you trust who can visit often.
- Consider letting trusted neighbors know of your diagnosis so they can help if needed.
- Use social service agencies, local nonprofits, and Area Agencies on Aging to connect with in-home help, transportation, meals, and other services.
Sleep Tips For People Living With Dementia
Dementia often changes a persons sleeping habits. You may sleep a lot, or not enough, and wake up many times during the night. Poor sleep quality can make dementia symptoms worse.
Tips for better and safer sleep:
- Follow a regular schedule by going to sleep and getting up at the same time each day, even on weekends or when traveling.
- Develop a relaxing bedtime routine with lowered lights, cool temperature, and no electronic screens.
- Avoid caffeine and naps late in the day.
- Have a lamp thats easy to reach and turn on, a nightlight in the hallway or bathroom, and a flashlight nearby.
- Keep a telephone with emergency numbers by your bed.
- Talk to your doctor if you have problems sleeping.
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Safety Outside The Home For People With Dementia
Some people with dementia may become disoriented and get lost in unfamiliar, or even previously familiar, surroundings. It is important that they carry appropriate identification at all times, including their name and address and an emergency contact number. An identity bracelet is ideal.
Some tips for making the area outside the home safe for the person with dementia include:
- Keep paths well swept and clear of overhanging branches.
- Check catches on gates.
- Remove poisonous plants and dispose of hazardous substances from sheds and garages.
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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Is It Safe To Leave The Person With Alzheimer’s Alone
This issue needs careful evaluation and is certainly a safety concern. The following points may help you decide.
Does the person with Alzheimer’s:
- Become confused or unpredictable under stress?
- Recognize a dangerous situation, for example, fire?
- Know how to use the telephone in an emergency?
- Know how to get help?
- Stay content within the home?
- Wander and become disoriented?
- Show signs of agitation, depression, or withdrawal when left alone for any period of time?
- Attempt to pursue former interests or hobbies that might now warrant supervision, such as cooking, appliance repair, or woodworking?
Moving Around The House
Try these tips to prevent falls and injuries:
- Simplify the home. Too much furniture can make it hard to move around freely.
- Get rid of clutter, such as piles of newspapers and magazines.
- Have a sturdy handrail on stairways.
- Put carpet on stairs, or mark the edges of steps with brightly colored tape so the person can see them more easily.
- Put a gate across the stairs if the person has balance problems.
- Remove small throw rugs. Use rugs with nonskid backing instead.
- Make sure cords to electrical outlets are out of the way or tacked to baseboards.
- Clean up spills right away.
Make sure the person with Alzheimers has good floor traction for walking. To make floors less slippery, leave floors unpolished or install nonskid strips. Shoes and slippers with good traction also help the person move around safely.
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Home Safety And Alzheimer’s Disease
Over time, people with Alzheimers disease become less able to manage around the house. For example, they may forget to turn off the oven or the water, how to use the phone during an emergency, which things around the house are dangerous, and where things are in their own home.
As a caregiver, you can do many things to make the persons home a safer place. Think preventionhelp avoid accidents by controlling possible problems.
While some Alzheimers behaviors can be managed medically, many, such as wandering and agitation, cannot. It is more effective to change the persons surroundingsfor example, to remove dangerous itemsthan to try to change behaviors. Changing the home environment can give the person more freedom to move around independently and safely.
Ethics Approval And Consent To Participate
The Health Research Act and the guide provided by the Ministry of Health and Care Services define what is considered medical and health research in Norway. The Regional Ethical Committee judged this study outside the scope of the Norwegian Health Research Act . The study was approved by the Hospitals Privacy Ombudsman after an assessment of data protection, impact assessment and risks for participants.
Participants received written information in advance, and informed consent form was signed and collected from all the participants prior to interview. They were informed that they were free to abort the interview or withdraw from the study at any time until data was analyzed and for practical reasons impossible to extract from synthesis.
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Take A Tour Of Your Own Home
The first step is to take a tour of your own home and look at it from the point of view of someone with dementia. Dementia affects cognitive abilities, depth perception, balance, coordination, and strength not just memory. People with dementia have trouble understanding instructions, interpreting the dangers around them, and making safe decisions. Even if your loved one is in the early stages of dementia, it is best to prepare as early as possible.
Equip Your Home With Assistive Devices
Simple fixes, such as grab bars in the bathroom, carpets tacked down to prevent falls, and locked gun closets, guard against accidents that drive people into nursing homes. In one study, Johns Hopkins researchers found that more than 90% of patient needs in those with dementia were safety-related. Another Johns Hopkins MIND at Home study of 88 patients and their caregivers found that the more safety or navigation supports a person with dementia had, the higher they rated their own quality of life.
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No3 Hire Safety Guards For Alzheimers/dementia Patients
Security guards can help you ensure the Alzheimers seniors security. They can play an important role on preventing the Alzheimers patients from wandering.
You can hire multiple Alzheimers safety guards so that they can cover all of the main entrances of your home or Alzheimers caring agency/facility.
Memory Care At The Moments
Ultimately, the safest option for any dementia patient, but particularly for anyone who is in the later stages of dementia, is a memory care home like The Moments. The Moments Memory Care is specifically designed architecturally to keep our residents with dementia safe, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When your loved one lives at The Moments, you will not worry about their safety. If you are ready to discuss the wonderful benefits of memory care for your loved one, contact us at The Moments today.
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Securing Or Eliminating Household Hazards
The first thing to do when modifying a home or apartment for a dementia patient is to limit access to hazardous areas and tools/equipment. Dangerous areas of the home typically include basements, garages and tool sheds.
Seniors living with dementia typically exercise increasingly poor judgement as their condition progresses, especially when it comes to differentiating between safe and unsafe circumstances. Its important to lock doors that lead to areas containing tools, ladders, landscaping equipment, chemicals, fuel and cleaning supplies. Anything that could be potentially dangerous, even if used properly, should always be secured. Although these devices may not be effective for deterring all seniors, child-proof locks can be placed on cabinets and doorknob covers can be used on doors that provide access to areas that cannot be locked for practical purposes.
While dementia patients are not children and should not be treated as such, the basic safety precautions that caregiving families should take around their homes are similar to childproofing. If theres any question whether something may pose risks, its best to err on the side of caution.
No4 Create A Safe Environment For Alzheimers Patients
Most Alzheimers patients are all under 65. They need careful and patient caring. If the Alzheimers patient can live in a safe environment, he or she is more likely to behave normally and enjoy a rather happy and safe life.
Check the below tips on creating a safe environment for the Alzheimers/dementia seniors.
- Avoid injuring the Alzheimers patient in daily activities. Ensure that the Alzheimers patient cannot approach those sharp tools such as knife, cleaning supplies, etc.
- Avoid serving food that is too hot. Old people with Alzheimers disease or dementia may forget to check the temperature of food.
- Install antiskid floor in the bathroom.
- Monitor the temperature of the water in the shower.
The above top 4 safety measures are useful for Alzheimers stage 2, 3, and end/final stage. Hope the above methods at least can give you a hand on dealing with the Alzheimers patient problem to some degree.
Alzheimers disease or dementia is one of the biggest serious diseases in the world. You would be extremely astonished after youve learned the Alzheimers statistics below.
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Understand And Accept Your Loved Ones Dementia Diagnosis
A dementia diagnosis is difficult on both the patient and their loved ones. For many, a diagnosis is the beginning of a long and uncertain journey. The road ahead could be difficult, but there are resources and education that can help, says Suzanne Havrilla, D.P.T., director of home support with Johns Hopkins Home Care Group.
Many families begin their path to acceptance by learning more from Alzheimer’s support organizations. These organizations often hold support groups for patients and families affected by dementia. They can also connect families to area practitioners and information. Its important to reassure families that patients can have a very good quality of life with this diagnosis, explains Havrilla. Once they are accepting of that, it may be easier for the caregivers.