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Blog Post by Mike Brunt
Last month, a friend referred me to a web site with information and products to enhance the safety and comfort for people with dementia who are still living at home.
http://www.thiscaringhome.org/
My interest was piqued since a good number of my in-home care clients suffer from Alzheimer’s or other dementing illnesses. One of the main questions families have is how to make home a safe place when the aging loved one can’t be relied upon to exercise caution and good judgment.
Dementia victims also often suffer from anxiety and fears that rob them of peace of mind and can contribute to other problems with their physical and mental health (blood pressure, heart issues, depression). I’ve observed that with dementia clients, one of the main goals is to prevent emotional escalations through distraction, re-direction, and also practical tools.
This web site, www.thiscaringhome.org, is full of practical tools to help dementia clients (and their family or professional caregivers) get through the day more easily.
Here are a few of my favorite finds from the site:
- Bathing Outfit
- This bathing outfit can restore dignity to the bathing experience while reducing agitation. This special waterproof bathing outfit has a wrap-around skirt and a bib-like top with a Velcro closure. The garment remains on during washing, while you, the caregiver, and the person, wash around and under it. Price is $30 for women and $20 for men.
- Quilted, Machine-Washable Seat Pads
- These quilted waterproof pads are made out of nylon and polyester and have a vinyl waterproof backing. Machine washable.May reduce embarrassment and shame that often occurs when regular incontinence pads are used. Available in several colors. This gives you more options to choose a color that also contrasts with the floor color. This make’s the seat more visible to people with dementia, as many have problems with depth perception. Price is $20
- 5 Common Environmental Triggers for Agitation
- People with dementia are extremely sensitive to their surroundings. But not everyone is bothered by the same stimuli or events, so the first step is to find out what’s upsetting the person you care for. The next time the person is agitated, take a look at or think back to exactly what happened just before they got agitated. Then you can remove or change the trigger(s) and the associated agitation. You’ll both experience less stress and, hopefully, a calmer day. Here are five common environmental triggers known to cause agitation in persons with dementia…
The site also has tips from experts such as “Sometimes it’s small things, like a grandchild giving a safety product as a gift, that makes all the difference in how well a product is received.”
As a final note, I think this is a great resource that I think will come in handy for anyone working with senior loved ones with Alzheimer’s or other dementing illnesses.
If you have found other products or tips that were effective for dementia care at home, please comment on this blog post.
Lynnae
/ September 8, 2010This was helpful article lor me while looking at the future with my parents. It is also great information since I am involved in the senior care field professionally. Thank you for sharing this very informative link with us.
Suzanne Roberts
/ September 8, 2010Dimentia is the most under diagnosed and under treated illness of the elderly and their family caregivers.
High levels of situational stress causes memory loss in all of us. It’s God’s way of protecting us from being overwhelmed. Untreated depression in an elderly person can be much more dangerous. It can present at anger, delusions, hallucinations and memory loss.
A Geriatric Physciatrist described depression to a patient in this way: “It is as though you are born with a shelf of green beans in your head and every time your coping skills begin to fail, you reach into the cupboard, gobble some green beans and you can cope. As we age the greenbeans may run out. Anti-depressants fill the cupboard again. That is a zany way to explain the loss of chemicals in the brain that can create depression.
The new generation antidepressants such as Lexapro will lift depression with very few, if any, side effects, plus it has a mild anti anxiety component which works well for the elderly.
Dick Cavett suffered from years of clinical depression and wrote a book about his experience. He described depression very graphiclly. He said, “It was as if I am sitting across the room from a magic wand. If I pick the wand up I can have anything I want, but it is too much trouble to get out of the chair.”
The positive effects of treatment are often stunning.