Visitors are important to people with Alzheimer's. They may not always
remember who the visitors are, but the human connection has value. Here are some
ideas to share with someone who is planning to visit a person with the disease.
Plan the visit for the time of day when the person with Alzheimer's is at
his or her best.
Consider bringing along an activity, such as something familiar to read or
photo albums to look at, but be prepared to skip it if necessary.
Be calm and quiet. Avoid using a loud tone of voice or talking to the
person as if he or she were a child.
Respect the person's personal space and don't get too close.
Try to establish eye contact and call the person by name to get his or her
attention.
Remind the person who you are if he or she doesn't seem to recognize you.
Don't argue if the person is confused. Respond to the feelings you hear
being communicated, and distract the person to a different topic if necessary.
Remember not to take it personally if the person doesn't recognize you, is
unkind, or responds angrily. He or she is reacting out of confusion.
Choosing a Nursing Home for a Person with Alzheimer's Disease
For many caregivers, there comes a point when they are no longer able to take
care of their loved one at home. Choosing a residential care facility—a group
home, assisted living facility, or nursing home—is a big decision, and it can be
hard to know where to start.
It's helpful to gather information about services and options before the
need actually arises. This gives you time to explore fully all the possibilities
before making a decision.
Determine what facilities are in your area. Doctors, friends and relatives,
hospital social workers, and religious organizations may be able to help you
identify specific facilities.
Make a list of questions you would like to ask the staff. Think about what
is important to you, such as activity programs, transportation, or special units
for people with Alzheimer's disease.
Contact the places that interest you and make an appointment to visit. Talk
to the administration, nursing staff, and residents.
Observe the way the facility runs and how residents are treated. You may
want to drop by again unannounced to see if your impressions are the same.
Find out what kinds of programs and services are offered for people with
Alzheimer's and their families. Ask about staff training in dementia care, and
check to see what the policy is about family participation in planning patient
care.
Check on room availability, cost and method of payment, and participation
in Medicare or Medicaid. You may want to place your name on a waiting list even
if you are not ready to make an immediate decision about long-term care.
Once you have made a decision, be sure you understand the terms of the
contract and financial agreement. You may want to have a lawyer review the
documents with you before signing.
Moving is a big change for both the person with Alzheimer's disease and the
caregiver. A social worker may be able to help you plan for and adjust to the
move. It is important to have support during this difficult transition.
Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by physical symptoms. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults.
Dehydration is the excessive loss of body water. There are a number of causes of dehydration including heat exposure, prolonged vigorous exercise, and some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The best way to treat dehydration is to prevent it from occurring.
Stress occurs when forces from the outside world impinge on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life. However, over-stress, can be harmful. There is now speculation, as well as some evidence, that points to the abnormal stress responses as being involved in causing various diseases or conditions.
Dementia is a significant loss of intellectual abilities such as memory capacity, severe enough to interfere with social or occupational functioning. There are different criteria classification schemes for dementias such as cortical, subcortical, progressive, primary, and secondary dementias. Other conditions and medication reactions can also cause dementia. Dementia is diagnosed based on a certain set of criteria. Treatment for dementia is generally focused on the symptoms of the disease.
Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. The principal types of depression are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disease (also called manic-depressive disease).
Dysphagia or difficulty in swallowing, swallowing problems. Dysphagia is due to problems in nerve or muscle control. It is common, for example, after a stroke. Dysphagia compromises nutrition and hydration and may lead to aspiration pneumonia and dehydration.
Alzheimer's disease is a common cause of dementia. Symptoms and warning signs of Alzheimer's disease include memory loss, difficulty performing familiar tasks, disorientation to time and place, misplacing things, and more. The biggest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is increased age. Treatment for Alzheimer's is often targeted toward decreasing the symptoms and progression of the disease.
A number of vital tasks carried out during sleep help maintain good health and enable people to function at their best. Sleep needs vary from individual to individual and change throughout your life. Not getting enough sleep can hurt memory performance, health, and your mood.
Hypothermia is having a body core temperature of less than 35 C or 95 F. Most causes of hypothermia are preventable. Risk factors for hypothermia include age, mental status, medical conditions, and medications. Symptoms of hypothermia generally depend upon the severity of the condition. Treatment depends upon the severity of hypothermia. If not treated early, hypothermia can lead to cardiac arrest, coma, or death.
Stress may be considered as any physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental unrest and that may be a factor in disease causation. An important goal for those under stress is the management of stress in our lives. Elimination of stress is unrealistic, since stress is a part of normal life. We can however, learn to manage stress through techniques such as exercise, relaxation, meditation, time management, and support systems so that we have control over our stress and its effects on our physical and mental health.
Insomnia is difficulty in falling or staying asleep, the absence of restful sleep, or poor quality of sleep. Insomnia is a symptom and not a disease. The most common causes of insomnia are medications, psychological conditions, environmental changes and stressful events. Treatments may include non-drug treatments, over-the-counter medicines, and/or prescription medications.
Brain lesions (lesions on the brain) are caused by trauma, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, cancers, other diseases, stroke, bleeding, pituitary adenomas, and cerebral palsy. Symptoms of brain lesions include headache, nausea, fever, neck pain and stiffness, affected vision and speech, weakness or paralysis to one side of the body. Diagnosis of brain lesions is generally with imaging studies like CT or MRI scans. Treatment and prognosis of brain lesions depends on the cause of the lesion.
Regular physical activity can reduce the risk of disease. Regular exercise can also reduce the symptoms of stress and anxiety. There are fitness programs that fit any age or lifestyle.
Millions of women suffer from urinary incontinence (UI). UI occurs twice as often in women as in men. There are many types of urinary incontinence: stress incontinence, urge incontinence, overactive bladder, functional incontinence, overflow incontinence, transient incontinence, and mixed incontinence.
Mental health is an optimal way of thinking, relating to others, and feeling. All of the diagnosable mental disorders fall under the umbrella of mental illness. Depression, anxiety, and substance-abuse disorders are common types of mental illness. Symptoms and signs of mental illness include irritability, moodiness, insomnia, headaches, and sadness. Treatment may involve psychotherapy and medication.
Bowel or fecal incontinence refers to the loss of voluntary control of stool, or bowel movements. The condition can include partial incontinence, in which a person loses only a small amount of liquid waste, to complete incontinence, in which the entire bowel movement cannot be controlled. Diet changes and elimination of certain medications can help patients to regain bowel control. Treatment involves a combination of medication, biofeedback, and exercise.
Most often, caregivers take care of other adults who are ill or disabled. Less often, caregivers are grandparents raising their grandchildren. The majority of caregivers are middle-aged women. Caregiving can be very stressful, so it's important to recognize when it's putting to much strain on you and to take steps to prevent/relieve stress.
Depression in the elderly is very common. That doesn't mean, though, it's normal. Treatment may involve antidepressants, psychotherapy, or electroconvulsive therapy.
Alzheimer's disease can be not only mentally devastating to an indivdiual and family, it can also be emotionally devastating. Preparing financially for someone with Alzheimer's disease is an important task to complete so that bills get paid and the best coverage is provided. Learn what Medicade and Medicare will provide for a patient.
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