Watching someone you love experience dementia is heart-wrenching. However, knowing how to care for your loved one with dementia can help maintain that connection for as long as possible and in the best way possible.
Ultimately, it may take some practice. Yet, starting with the dos and don’ts below can offer a guide on what you should and shouldn’t be doing.
As a family member, it’s a difficult and emotional journey to care for and watch your loved one experience signs of dementia. Yet, having a consistent caregiver (and having someone they are familiar with care for them) can substantially improve their quality of life.
At the same time, caring for an individual with dementia, especially someone you love, can be overwhelming. In fact, as a caregiver, you have an increased risk of experiencing physical and mental health problems. It’s by no means an easy task!
Ensuring you’re taking care of yourself so that you can give your best self is of the utmost importance. And maybe this is all new to you or perhaps you’re feeling like you’re burnt out. What can you do? Here are a few tips.
Early signs of dementia may appear fairly vague, subtle, and potentially not that noticeable. Additional, different types of dementia may impact individuals differently. Thus, the following symptoms should be used as a tentative guide. If you notice your loved one experiencing any of the following, it’s likely a good idea to encourage them to get tested.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in the United States. Alzheimer’s disease is an insidious illness, which progressively impacts cognitive functioning. Over the course of the disease process, an individual’s ability to participate in daily activities, including driving, managing medications, and managing finances, may also decline.
There are no instant, miracle cures. But recent studies suggest we have more control over our cognitive health than we might think. It just takes some effort.
To ward off age-related cognitive decline, you may be tempted to turn to brain training apps. Last year, consumers spent nearly $2 billion on them, some of which claim to improve cognitive skills.
Evidence suggests you’d be better off spending more time exercising and less time staring at your phone.
Ask anyone what worries them most about getting older, and more than a few people will say losing the ability to remember things is high up on their list. After a lifetime of making memories and forging meaningful relationships, the idea that a disease like Alzheimer’s could swoop in and steal it all away is, frankly, pretty frightening…
Some experts are heralding the results of a large new study, which found that people with hypertension who received intensive treatment to lower their blood pressure were less likely than those receiving standard blood pressure treatment to develop minor memory and thinking problems that often progress to dementia.
Dementia is a serious disease that affects between 5 to 7 percent of people over the age of 60. However, this number drastically increases as the age rises as well. This can impact family members. The holiday season is a time when families come together to eat and share in the joy.
That is why it is important to be prepared on how to kindly treat family members with dementia.
This is the most common system for understanding the progression of Dementia into seven stages.
