Alzheimer's Care At Home

An assisted living facility is not the ideal solution for everyone with Alzheimer's.  Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's Disease at home can be taxing for even the most patient family members, but it can certainly be done--especially in the early stages of the disease.  At the onset of Alzheimer's, your loved one may remain capable of performing daily tasks that allow him or her to live and function independently. Keep in mind that these abilities diminish as the disease progresses.

Keeping the following tips in mind will help you and your loved one be more comfortable:

Reduce Frustrations
As the disease progresses, new demands are placed on the caregiver as they attempt to deal with changes in the patient’s abilities and behaviors.  The Alzheimer’s patient may grow frustrated, agitated, or even aggressive when they are no longer able to perform tasks they were once able to do automatically and in such demanding situations, ensuring that you are caring for yourself first will help you take better care of your family member.

If a loved one that you’re living with and caring for has Alzheimer’s you can help make things easier for the both of you if you keep these things in mind:

Schedule Appropriately  
Consider if there is a particular part of the day that your loved one is best able to participate in tasks that are more difficult—such as taking a bath or going to the doctor. and scheduling such things at those times.  Daily routines help eliminate confusion and help provide a degree of predictability for all.

Let Your Loved One Help
Let your loved one participate in tasks as much as possible. You may find that your husband can handle shaving by himself if you turn on his electric razor and hand it to him or perhaps, you may find that your wife is able to get dressed by herself if you lay out her clothes on the in the order in which she should put them on.

Eliminate Options
Limiting choices helps to makes decisions easier.  Many nursing homes and assisted living facilities, for example, allowing patients to select from a couple of outfits to wear rather than a full closet, which helps the patient be successful in deciding what to wear.  At meal time, turning off the TV can help them concentrate better on the task at hand.

Be Comfortable With A Slower Pace
Tasks will take longer than they used to take, so be prepared and schedule appropriately.  That way, it won’t be necessary to hurry your loved one.

Be Flexible
Your loved one's capabilities will steadily decline and will likely vary from one day to the next. Flexibility and a comfort level with adapting routines to schedules is necessary.  For example, a favorite activity or food may all of a sudden become upsetting or he or she may demand to wear the same clothing day after day.  Should that happen, you may think about buying several sets of identical clothing and while your loved one sleeps, you can switch the worn clothing for the clean.

Allow your loved one to engage in tasks with the minimal assistance from you takes flexibility. Try easing your standards a bit and allow them to complete a task to a lesser standard than you might wish it to be done. For example, a daily bath may not be necessary if it seems to be upsetting for your loved one. Alternating between sponge baths and showers or tub baths may be a perfectly good alternative.

Individualized Care

The effects of Alzheimer's differ from one patient to another and the progression differs, as well.  That means  how you care for your loved one will differ from how others may care for theirs.  Consider the following tips when tending to your loved one’s individual needs.

Setting Up Home Care

Once Alzheimer’s has been diagnosed, you will soon want to begin making  the changes that help to your loved one as much of a sense of well being and physical safety as possible.  Most all things will now require planning, even if they’ve always been basic everyday tasks.   Communication, as well as the home environment will need to change, as well. These changes include:

• The disease’s progress will require altering how you communicate  with your loved one.  
• Scheduling and inviting visitors  in a way that prevents surprises and provides your loved one with something to look forward to. Even if dementia does not allow them  to recognize the visitor, the contact is valuable.
• Establishing routines in activities of daily living
• Maintaining social contacts and fun
• Setting up a safe home environment
• Considering placement in an assisted living facility if things become too difficult for you at home

Communication
Be sure to acknowledge and respond to your loved one’s requests and even if it isn’t rational arguing or attempting to change their mind isn’t going to make matters better.  Be aware of paying attention only when your loved one exhibits problem behaviors as this can actually intensify the problem behavior over time. Rather, be supportive of positive behavior whenever possible and give them a reason to do it more often.

Remember The Worth Of The Person As A Human Being
Even if your loved one doesn’t appear to respond, they still deserve love, care, touch, and being spoken to. Alzheimer’s and dementia patients enjoy human contact and understanding and supportive care is essential to the their well being.  In the same vein, remember that problem behaviors are not personal attacks on you. Understand that these are simply symptoms of the disease and press forth from there.

Expect That Your Loved One Will Completely Lose Their Memory
Be prepared with endless patience. It is common that Alzheimer’s sufferers are usually unaware of their memory loss and it may be annoying to have to repeat yourself time after time or to deal with repetitive behaviors.  If you can, think of the good side of every situation and understand  your loved one won’t be as upset as you as they probably won’t realize the changes that are happening to them or how you are impacted.

Get Emotional Support For Yourself
Almost everything about your loved one’s Alzheimer’s is going to be hard on you, too.  You are likely to feel grief and loss about and they will likely be worsened as you see the person you’ve known and loved for years lose their hold on reality and recognition. Remember there is plenty of support for you and your other family—you just need to reach out for it.

Engaging Your Loved One In Activities
Maintaining an active body and mind is important in Alzheimer’s care.  In early-stage Alzheimer’s, engaging in a variety of activities, including mental and physical exercise can help to slow the disease’s progression and new experiences may stimulate brain health. The key to success is in providing a variety of stimuli that reduces boredom, and maintains a relaxing environment that doesn’t over-stimulate the patient.