• Home
  • About me / Privacy Disclosure
    • Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk Info
    • Contact Us| Or Ask a Question on Facebook
  • The Stages of Alzheimer’s

Alzheimers Support

Learning and sharing information to support those with Alzheimers dementia

  • Just me…
  • The Stages
    • Late Stage
    • Middle Stage
    • Early Stage
  • Questions
    • How to Take the Car Away
  • Best Reads
  • Communication
  • Care Tips
    • Healthy Diet
    • Medical
  • The Caregiver
    • Caring for the Caregiver
    • Memories Forgotten
  • Signs and Symptoms
  • In the News
  • Health and Aging
  • Alzheimer’s Clocks
  • Activities
    • Activities for those with Alzheimers or Dementia
    • Activities to Share with a loved one who has Dementia
    • Best Gifts for those with Alzheimer’s Dementia
    • 5 Activities to Keep Hands Busy for thse with Alzheimer’s or Other dementias
    • Does Mom with Alzheimer’s Need a Baby doll?
    • Baby Dolls Crafted for dementia and the Elderly
  • Holidays and Gifts
    • How to Choose Fun Gifts for Seniors with Alzheimer’s
    • Best Gifts for Caregivers
    • Best Gifts for Elderly People with Alzheimer’s
    • A few Great Gift Ideas for those with dementia
    • Alzheimer’s Digital Clock keeps time for those with dementia
    • Alzheimer’s Fidget Quilts for Sale Online
    • Chocolate may Soothe Anger in Alzheimer’s
You are here: Home / Archives for monitoring health

How to Manage the Well-Being of the Person with Alzheimer’s and Dementia

01/20Leave a Comment

safe-environment

 How to manage the well-being of a loved one with dementia

How to manage the well-being of someone with dementia can be a tall order.

Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of symptoms that accompany a number of conditions that affect brain function.

Dementia symptoms may include problems with speech, perception, cognitive skills or personality. Alzheimer’s disease is only one of the many conditions that can cause symptoms of dementia.

Understanding and promoting proper care for someone with dementia is becoming a more prevalent concern for the healthcare community as the aging population grows. Managing a loved ones well-being includes many things.

Providing A Safe Environment

Family caregivers can ensure that the affected person has a comfortable and safe environment that allows him to function easily on an everyday basis. Measures such as ensuring that electrical cords and area rugs are safely secured can help prevent falls. Burns can be prevented by keeping water temperatures within a safe range. Lighters, matches and other fire hazards should be used only under the supervision of the caregiver. Liberal use of locks on cabinets, doors and hazardous areas of kitchen or garage can help to prevent accidents.

Regular Assessments
Part of the nature of dementia is its progressive nature. Symptoms may be very slight at the beginning of the condition and grow increasingly more severe over time. At first, only those familiar with the person may notice the deterioration of cognitive function. It is extremely important for the affected person to have regular assessments of his mental condition so that support services can be implemented for his safety and well-being.

Support for Family Caregivers
Usually, a spouse or child of the affected person takes on the duties of care, and this arrangement can often create the best environment for the affected person to make him feel comfortable and secure. However, other arrangements such as day care or respite care in a facility may be necessary to relieve the burden of caring for affected patients. These arrangements can often be a good choice for both patients as family members as the disease progresses.

Managing Physical Problems
Dementia patients experience not only mental problems but also increasing physical problems as their brain becomes affected by the condition. Proper pain management can be difficult to determine in these patients and can have a significant effect on their mental processes. Careful assessment and supervision of medications can help to provide the correct balance between relieving painful symptoms and ensuring that mental function is not affected.

Encouraging Individual Interests 
A Norwegian company is finding encouraging results with individually tailored activities for patients with dementia. They are learning that engaging patients in activities, both physical and mental, that are meaningful to them. These activities serve to hold off the depression and apathy that are common in dementia and slow down mental deterioration. The activities must be engaged in at least twice each week with frequent mental assessments of the patient. To relieve family members of some of the care of these patients, caregivers are matched with the patient to attend them while engaging in these enriching activities that help to increase function and improve well being.

Memory Care Facilities
As dementia progresses, the affected person may become too disabled for home care. A number of senior care companies provide residential memory care for people severely affected by dementia. Family members should research a number of facilities before choosing a care facility for the patient. References and visits to these facilities will allow family members to get a comprehensive look at proposed care for their loved one.

Author: Ryan Hughes writes about Health and Aging.

———————————————

 Twiddle Muff CatCheck Price Special Needs Sensory Activity Apron (Children & Adult Sizes)Check Price FlagHouse Activity ApronCheck Price

———————————————————————-

Filed Under: Care Tips, communication Tagged With: caregiver, emotional and physical health, monitoring health

Categories

Most of Those with Dementia love Music

Email Updates

Most Recent Articles

  • Answering Your Questions
  • Form a Network of Support when dealing with Alzheimer’s
  • Lesser Known Early Signs of Alzheimer’s
  • Healthy diet and exercise equal sound sleep for the aging
  • 8 Things Can Change How You Approach Caregiving
  • 6 Warning Signs in Elderly Should Never be Ignored
  • Thank you to Nancy Madaris!
  • Home Test for Alzheimer’s – Will You Take the Test?

Let Them Listen to a Favorite Book

Most Viewed Articles

4 Easy Ways to Help the person with Alzheimer’s Dementia Get Dressed

Will Mom forget me? The Adult Child often Wonders

Does your Loved one with Alzheimers or Dementia Still Smoke?

Alzheimer’s in the White House?

Perspective on the New Year through the eyes of Alzheimer’s: by Norman Mac

Test for Alzheimer’s with Simple Word Test – Word Recall

10 Things a Person Living with Dementia Would Tell You If They Could

A Digital Watch and the Clock Test for those with dementia

Copyright © 2021 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in