Caring for someone suffering from dementia is a struggle. This why you need to choose the best out of the many memory care facilities in Citrus Heights CA for proper care. Here are some of the problems dementia patients deal with.
Wandering
This is very common among those that suffer from any form of dementia. They are often found walking without any apparent reason. This could lead to them to harm if they venture outside their safe zone. There are ways to deal with these including:
- You could either childproof the door knobs or install locks that need keys.
- Installing an alarm or monitoring system that keeps the afflicted person in check. Other nifty little technological devices like a GPS tracker can be attached to the afflicted person so that his location can be determined at all times.
- Tags indicating information such as names and address should be attached to the clothes of an afflicted person just in case he gets missing.
- Prepare for the worst by registering the person with the Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return program or other emergency tracking service.
- Simply placing a black mat on your porch can prevent an afflicted person from venturing outside. The person might consider it a hole that he can’t pass.
- Sometimes, boredom moves those afflicted with dementia to wander. You can take care of these by taking the afflicted person on walks and engaging them in regular exercise.
- Your neighbors should know about the condition of your loved one and leave them with your number in case they need to contact you.
- Hiding the afflicted person items like purse, coat or hat might discourage the person from going out.
Memory Care Facilities in Citrus Heights CA often have measures in place to deal with wandering patients, and they could be your best option in the long run.
Repetition
Another common trait among those suffering from dementia-related diseases is the frequent repetition of words, questions or actions. This type of trait has no negative effect on the health of the afflicted person, but it does put some strain on those that are taking care of them. No one likes to be asked the same question over and over again, and no matter how dear the person is to you, it starts to get annoying at some point in time.
This condition is usually caused by boredom, fear or other environmental factors, which is why memory care facilities in Citrus Heights CA engineer their schedules and community environment in such a way to prevent the frequent manifestation of this trait in their residents. To deal with it, however, you should consider:
- Understanding the patterns. Actions such as repetitive tugging of the clothes might mean that the person needs to go to the bathroom.
- Helping them let go of their fear by consistently telling them that they have nothing to worry about. Physical contact helps a great deal also.
- Ignoring their question when they become repetitive and try coming up with activities to help them forget the question.
- Keeping him occupied with a snack or an activity.
- Placing signs that provide straightforward and short explanations can help also. A sign that reads “Dave comes home at 6:00” could eliminate anxiety when Dave does arrive home eventually.
