Mental and physical changes seen in the later stages of Alzheimer's make patient care difficult. He or she may become unable to perform simple daily needs on his or her own, such as bathing, eating, or going to the toilet. In this case, you need to be with him at all times. Caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease is a difficult task, and it is not possible for one person alone to meet the needs of another person every hour of every day. The stress of meeting all your relative's demands can negatively affect your health, too. You are limited in what you can do on your own. In the later stages, you should ask for help from those around you, both for the health of your relative and for your own health.
Even if you think no one wants to help you, be sure to ask. Many people don't know what to do even if they want to help. Having someone play backgammon with you from time to time, take you for a walk, or read a book will relax you for a few hours. Your neighbor might buy a few things for you on his way to the market. Although the ideal is to cooperate with other family members, it can be difficult in practice. In our country, it is a tradition for the elderly to stay with their children alternately. However, for the patient with dementia, the change of home and caregiver causes increased anxiety and confusion. Elderly people generally prefer their own homes or they want one of their children to take care of them. If you live close to your relatives, they may come to your home to help with patient care. If they cannot spare time due to work or other obstacles, you can also ask for financial support to get help from professional caregivers. Since dementia is a disease that requires constant care, you can also benefit from the care pension provided by the state.
The person with Alzheimer's disease has difficulty finding the right words, understanding what the other person is saying, sometimes forgets what to say, and acts aggressively or unintelligibly due to skepticism and restlessness. can speak. When you talk to him, using simple and understandable sentences helps him understand what you say. Try to choose a time and place to talk where there are no distractions. Even if it sounds incomprehensible when he speaks, you should listen patiently and focus. middle and advanced stage What they say may be unrealistic or irrational due to the psychotic symptoms that occur in the future. In this case, do not argue with him, you cannot change his mind.
One of the best things you can do for him is to tell him the memories and help him remember some things. For this, you can use photos, videos and items that remind you of important memories. Alzheimer's patients often have more difficulty remembering very recent events than older ones. Chatting about the events you experienced also helps refresh your memories. You can also ask friends or relatives to chat with him. Since he may have difficulty recognizing people, do not forget to introduce those who come to your home and try to use people's names when talking.
As dementia progresses, it will become difficult to understand speech, so non-verbal communication will come to the fore. In other words, your tone of voice and what your body says are more important than the sentences you make.
Continuous wandering
Many patient relatives complain about the patient wandering unconsciously. Most patients go out looking for something or someone and then forget why they set out and where they are going. Sometimes they continue a past routine. Sometimes, due to psychotic symptoms, they run away from fear, thinking that someone is following them and will harm them. If he goes out at the same time every day, you can find another activity for him to do at those hours. You can keep the doors locked and hide your keys, shoes or coat. When he gets lost, he may not be able to ask for help or give his phone or address information, so be sure to have a card in his pocket or wallet with information about his illness and the address and phone numbers to reach you. They can often clutter rooms in the house. You should put signs on the doors that he can understand. He can walk around the house at night while you sleep. Take safety precautions, avoid obstacles on the ground that he can trip over, do not keep too many items for him to move around comfortably, use night lights. You can install alarms on doors and windows. If he leaves the house despite the precautions you have taken, GPS devices can help you track him. Also, inform your neighbors and immediate surroundings. If you insist, they may let you know when they see him outside.
Anger management
Angry or aggressive words and behaviors usually come from a feeling of helplessness and fear. Aggression is triggered when he/she enters an unfamiliar environment, does not understand what you are saying, or experiences psychotic symptoms (such as hallucinations or suspicions). Therefore, you should first try to understand why he is angry. Taking angry words personally, that is, thinking that they are intended to be directed at you, will increase tension. Since your patient is under the influence of dementia, he does not have a healthy thought process to make such an intention. Sometimes he/she can understand everything that is said or can describe in detail an event that happened a long time ago. However, maybe after a moment he may start screaming and kicking. In this case, after first ensuring the safety of both your patient and yourself, you can try to draw his/her attention to something else in a calm and reassuring manner. Create conditions where your relative will feel safe. The better you know him, the easier this intervention will be. For some patients, it will be enough to walk away and wait for them to calm down; for others, just holding their hand will be enough. Do not continue discussing the issue he is angry about. Trying to persuade by making long explanations will not work. Sometimes you may use excuses or lies to avoid the issue. The important thing is that he feels safe.
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