Helping a loved one who has contracted Alzheimer’s disease can be a difficult and emotionally draining experience. However, there are several techniques that you can utilize to help reduce the strain on everyone involved. As an added bonus, some of these techniques can even help the Alzheimer’s patient improve their quality of life and retain some of their most important memories for longer.
Top Tips for Alzheimer’s Care
1. Be Careful When Creating a Schedule – It is imperative to help an Alzheimer’s patient by developing a daily routine to reduce their level of confusion. For example, it is a good idea to schedule their meals at the same time each day. Additionally, it is likely that there will be certain times of the day when they tend to be in a calmer state. Once you have determined when these times are, you can use it to your advantage to schedule any necessary medical appointments and other difficult tasks.
2. Help Your Loved One Stay Involved – Many Alzheimer’s caregivers are tempted to simply take care of everything instead of involving their loved one. After all, this removes the necessity of getting the patient to cooperate with the task at hand. However, keeping them involved in almost every aspect of their daily life can actually help them with their memory and self-esteem.
3. Consider Moving Them into an Assisted Living Facility – Alzheimer’s disease is a heartbreaking condition that can be emotionally devastating for the patient’s family members. Additionally, many home caregivers are not properly equipped to meet all of the patient’s needs. Therefore, it is important to consider moving your loved one into an assisted living facility that specializes in Alzheimer’s care. Chateau Vestavia, an assisted living community in Alabama, offers a life enrichment program called Memory Care for residents who suffer from Alzheimers.
4. Remove Unnecessary Distractions – It can be extremely difficult for an Alzheimer’s patient to focus during conversations, mealtime and other essential components of their day if there is background noise or other unnecessary distractions. For example, you should never leave the TV on if you are attempting to have a conversation with your loved one.
5. Patience Is Key – It is understandable that dealing with a loved one who has Alzheimer’s disease can be stressful, but you should never allow yourself to lose your patience with them. Doing so would only confuse them, and it could also cause them to feel so stressed out that they no longer feel comfortable with you around. Therefore, if you feel like it is possible that you will lash out at them, you should temporarily remove yourself from the situation.
In most cases, it makes sense for an Alzheimer’s patient to move into an assisted living facility. After all, these communities offer a high level of specialized care that can help improve the quality of their life. Additionally, it will help remove your burden of being a personal caregiver, and this will enable you to focus your attention solely on having good experiences with your loved one. This can make the process of dealing with Alzheimer’s easier for everyone involved, and it can also help assuage any feelings of guilt you have that are associated with caring for them at home.
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