Many families provide the support needed to assist a loved one with dementia to remain at home, or live with relatives in a home environment. This can become a real struggle with the many behavioral and safety issues that accompany dementia care. How can you help ensure the safety and well-being of your loved one with Alzheimer’s at home?
EasyLiving offers a free eBook, Alzheimer’s Specialty Care Tips, designed just for dementia caregivers on how to manage a variety of behaviors and deal with the day-to-day realities of dementia home care.
Here are some dementia home health tips from our care experts at EasyLiving:
- Monitor safety issues. Because dementias are progressive conditions, things will inevitably change over time. You want to maintain a balance, allowing your loved on independence where possible, but keeping in mind that safety may be compromised by memory issues and difficulty with complex thinking and reasoning. For loved ones who live alone, consider hiring help or assisting with things like medication management, cooking and driving. If you are at a distance, a home health caregiver trained in Alzheimer’s Specialty Care and geriatric care manager can be valuable resources to monitor for changes.
- Create a routine. A routine schedule is most helpful for the person with Alzheimer’s and also makes things easier on the caregiver(s). If you have outside home health assistance or relatives/friends that help, inform them of the schedule and typical activities so that they can maintain the routine.
- Engage your care recipient. Try to find activities that your care recipient enjoys that fit his/her capabilities and interests. You may have to modify activities, especially as time goes on, but having a purpose and staying as active as possible can help with issues like restlessness and agitation.
Call us today at 727-448-0900 for a free dementia home health assessment or help with your dementia care questions or concerns. You can also fill out our request form to have one of our care advisors give you a call to discuss your concerns.
Have a tip to add? We’d love to hear from you–please leave a comment below if you have advice for other caregivers, resources to help or a question. You can also join our Facebook community to engage in ongoing conversations!
