Home Safety for People with Alzheimer's Disease
Introduction
Caring for a person with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a challenge that calls
upon the patience, creativity, knowledge, and skills of each caregiver. We hope
that this article will help you cope with some of these challenges and develop
creative solutions to increase the security and freedom of the person with
Alzheimer's disease in
your home, as well as your own peace of mind.
This information is for those who provide in-home care for people with
Alzheimer's disease or
related disorders. Our goal is to improve home safety by identifying potential
problems in the home and offering possible solutions to help prevent accidents.
We begin with a checklist to help you make each room in your home a safer
environment for the person with Alzheimer's disease. Next, we hope to increase awareness of the
ways specific impairments associated with the disease can create particular
safety hazards in the home. Specific home safety tips are listed to help you
cope with some of the more hazardous behaviors that may occur as the disease
advances. We also include tips for managing driving and planning for natural
disaster safety. The article ends with a list of resources for family
caregivers.
What is Alzheimer's Disease?
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, irreversible disease that affects brain
cells and produces memory loss and intellectual impairment in as many as 4.5
million American adults. This disease affects people of all racial, economic,
and educational backgrounds.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in adults. Dementia is defined as
loss of memory and intellect that interferes with routine personal, social, or
occupational activities. Dementia is not a disease; rather, it is a group of
symptoms that may accompany certain diseases or conditions. Other symptoms
include changes in personality, mood, or behavior.
Although Alzheimer's disease primarily affects people age 65 or older, it also may affect
people in their 50s and, although rarely, even younger. Other causes of
irreversible dementia include multi-infarct dementia (a series of minor
strokes
resulting in widespread death of brain tissue),
Pick's disease,
Binswanger's
disease, Parkinson's disease,
Huntington's disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease,
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), multiple sclerosis, and
alcohol abuse. The recommendations in this
article deal primarily with common
problems in Alzheimer's disease, but they also may apply to any of the related dementing
disorders.
Next: What are the Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease? »
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