Top 3 Tips Caring For Family Member With Alzheimer's Disease In The Summer

Now that summer is approaching, we have switched from spring like conditions to very hot conditions. As the weather changes so must we as caregivers. Summertime in most places brings extreme conditions and those of us who care for someone who has Alzheimer's or disabled must be more aware of things.

My father had Alzheimer's for over 15 years and the past few years I was his at-home care provider. He lost all mobility and verbal communication several years ago so I mainly have to think for him.I make sure my thinking changes as conditions change.

I will share with you 3 things that I was more aware of in the summer time than most seasons.These 3 suggestion may seem so simple, but you would surprised how many people don't practice it. Now when I speak of these suggestions, I'm mainly speaking to those who are caring for those who are not able to verbally communicate and have no mobility, but can apply to others as well..

1.Plenty Of Water.  Even though this is believe to be a no brainer, so many disable people suffer from dehydration. Not because they are being purposely neglected or anything, but caregivers tend to give the same amount of water in the summer time as they do in other season.Because of the sweating that takes place in the summer, more fluids will be needed.

2.Try To Keep Their Room The Same Temperature. It's so easy to always turn the thermostat up and down as we try to keep ourselves comfortable. The problem I started running into was I was always adjusting it to fit my need. Because I was always moving about, I would get warm quickly so to the thermostat I would go. When I cool down back to the thermostat I went.Now my dad had Alzheimer's and was confined to the bed and I wasn't aware that I was changing the temperature on him also.He would stay with a cold and even though I was treating it and went away, I wasn't aware that it was me that was causing the problem.

3. Keep The Room They Sleep In Sanitized. This is very important as temperature soars in the 100 degree mark. Germs really spread in these condition more than any other season, so keep their room mopped every other day and wipe down at least twice a week. This room is where they are getting bathe and changed in, so germs are easier to spread in hot conditions.

These are my 3 tips for caring for disabled family members in the summer.

Different Forms Of Dementia

Being a caregiver for many years, I believe not only is it important for caregivers to be the best caregiver possible, but also to learn as much about the condition as they can.

So, What is Dimentia? Dimentia is an umbrella term for different symptoms related to a decline in our thinking ability. Some of the common symptoms include a steady loss of memory, having difficult in learning, being disoriented, and a gradual decline in the ability to perform basic routine tasks.

Changes in a persons personality and behavior, will be something that will take place as the condition worsen.As of now there is no cure for this condition, but there are several approved medications that will help slow down the progression.Check with your doctor which will be best for your situation.

Most people when they start having a decline in their memory they assume they have Alzheimer's, but that is not necessarily true.Even though Alzheimer's is the leading cause of dementia, there are many other forms of dementia such as Vascular Dementia and Dementia with Lewy Bodies.Each of these disorders involves processes that destroy brain cells so there features are similar.

Now there are some treatable conditions such as depression, thyroid problem, and drug interaction that can cause dementia. With early intervention these forms of dementia can be effectively treated and possibly reversed.

Understanding the different forms of dementia as a caregiver can give you better information when consulting your doctor about what is happening. Now it's a fact that doctors can't determine if a person truly has Alzheimer's until the patient pass away and performs an autopsy.But with the research they have and with proper test, they can make a better judgement call based on the condition.

If you feel that a family member or friend is suffering memory loss more than usual, get them to a doctor to determine what is the cause. If found in the early stages, you can better prepare for not only their future, but yours as well.

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3 Effective Techniques Of Communicating With Dementia Patients

Families and caregivers can maintain a quality of life when caring for a family member with dimentia at home for years after the person has been diagnosed. Having a plan with family before taking on this responsibility could reduce stress levels and not put so much burden on just one person.

Now, a person could live with Alzheimer's up to twenty years after diagnosis. The family dynamics will change drastically over the course of the disease, but there is always hope when family and friends make adjustments for the gradual and progressive decline in memory loss and ability.

As Alzheimer's progresses, communication can become very challenging.Having ongoing communication is important no matter how difficult it may become or how confused the person appears to be. Even though at times the person may not respond, they still benefit from direct communication.

My father had this disease for over 15 years and as time went by he loss all mobility as well as his communication skills. At first, this was a tough task. Trying to figure out when something was wrong because he could no longer express to me what was wrong, was stressful.It took me to really take a step back and examine my approach to the situation, because I found that I was still trying to communicate with him on the same level before Alzheimer's. Here are 3 techniques I tried and over time helped me.

1.Always be aware of the tone you use. As I stated earlier, communication can be very challenging, especially when you are not use to talking to someone that may or may not understand you.This is when you have to watch your tone. Frustration and stress will reach its peak, and before you are aware of it, you will be screaming at the top of your lungs to the person.What I learn was to speak direct and make short sentences, because them trying to decipher long sentences will not work.

2.Call the person by name often. It took me a while to really do this but found it to be effective.A person with dementia mostly have bad short term memory but things that happened earlier in their life they remember.Most times my dad didn't even recognize me, but I will still say daddy do this and daddy do that.Most times I didn't get a response. One day I started calling him by his name. Come to find out that's what he responded too.In a calm voice, I would say Robert, and when he acknowledge his name,I would say "time to take a bath" and most times he responded.

3.Pay attention to your body language. This is a crucial part of caregiving when it comes to communicating. Your facial expression and your stance could send negative messages. It gives them the impression you are being bossy and they will start treating you like the enemy. The last thing you need is for them to feel this way because if they feel threaten they will start acting out on it. Always use a positive and friendly expression even when you don't feel like it.

These are 3 things that I hope can help through your time as a caregiver. We never know when it might be us.Keep making adjustments until you figure out what works best for your situation. This has been my experience dealing with not only a dad but also my granddad.

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Dementia Communication Takes Looking Beyond Words

A person with early dementia experience things such as short term  memory loss, confusion, and depression.As dementia progresses it takes away abilities to hold conversations or explain things properly. We as caregivers have to fully understand this and go the extra mile in trying to figure out what exactly are they trying to tell us.

As a caregiver for a few years, I have learned so much. I've learned that even though it seem as though the person may seem to be talking out of their head, they may be really trying to tell you something important but can't express themselves with words.They may repeat the same sentence for days and we may blow it off as senile talk.

I remember there being an old lady in a nursing home trying to tell the staff what was wrong with her, but just didn't know how. For days she would shout loudly that she wanted them to" take the baby out of her because it hurt." The more she shouted this the more the staff blew it off. It really became a joke among the staff members.They knew the lady wasn't pregnant so they saw no reason to be concerned.

A few days later one of the staff member was going over the lady charts and found something very interesting. It had appeared, according to the charts, that the lady had not had a bowel movement for a few days. Over and over she had been trying to tell the staff for days that she needed to use the bathroom but could not think of the right words.

So even though it seemed as though she was talking senile, she was really trying to say what was wrong with her. As a caregiver, don't just think a person is talking nonsense, especially if they repeat the same statements. Go the extra mile to see if there is something they are really trying to tell you.It is amazing what you may be able to figure out.

Do Older People Fake Dementia To Get Attention

If you are at home caring for a parent/spouse, trying to figure out on your own if a person is faking dementia can be dangerous. Unless you get the proper tests done on a person, you would never be able to tell.

My father had Alzheimer's for over 15 years before he passed Sept 2012, but one of the things I remember when he was first diagnosed was how he got confused a lot about things he had known for years.No matter how you try to correct him, it just didn't register wih him  He would always confuse me with my older brother. Even after tellng him my name, it would only take minutes before he called me my brother's name again.It was as if I didn't exist in his mind at times.

Now because I didn't know anything about dimentia, I just came to the conclusion that it was just age. Now, even though I thought it was his age, some of my other siblings thought maybe he was just looking for extra attention .They just couldn't understand how he could remember something one minute and the next had no clue about it. But that is the danger of coming to a conclusion like that without getting them checked first.
Dementia in its early stages can really give off symptoms of someone faking. Because dementia affects the transmissions of signals to different parts of the brain can lead to a person remembering certain things one minute and the next minute they don't.

As the stage progress, it will be where they won't even recognize their own children at times. You could be having a normal conversation one minute and because the transmission signal starts going to the part of the brain that stores memory, they won't even know who you are at that time.Since the signal went to the area that stores memory, they may only remember you as a 12 year old child and not their 40 year old child.

If you have a mother/father that remembers things one minute and the next gets into a confuse state of mind and don't quite know how to put things together, don't try figuring out if they are trying to get attention or not. Get them to a doctor and get them check because it may be they are in the early stages of dementia.

Get great information from this detailed book by former Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt

Caregiver Burnout

Are you a caregiver that is having trouble with burnout? Don't be too alarmed if you are having this issue. This is something we all as caregivers will have to endure. The question is, are you having burnouts frequent? If that is the case you may want to look into things a little further.

The thing with burnout that I experienced during my caregiving days for my dad who had alzheimer's was, I found out that it was me who was causing the burnout. Now most times it's all the responsibilities that are placed upon us that we feel is causing the numerous burnouts, but if you looked a little closer you may discover that you are doing things that are bringing about frustration, stress, and then burnout.

When Alzheimer's started to really affect my dad, all I wanted to do was try to fix what was wrong. After months of doing this and my solutions became only temporary fixes, I became physically and mentally exhausted. The main thing I found out that I was doing was I was trying to fight the disease itself and it was wearing me down. I wanted to fix what was wrong instead of focusing on getting information on the disease to better equip myself. What Alzheimer's taught me was that there are some things that will take its course. So until there is a cure for this disease be can be certain that your family member will have to endure the numerous stages that Alzheimer's will take them through.

With the help of the internet, a person can gather so much information that can assist them with how to handle the different stages of the disease so you can be better equiped and cut down on so much burnout.

So, if you are experencing a lot of stress and burnout, you may want to take a step back and see if you are causing it trying to fight the disease rather than getting the info you need.
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Using Drawsheet When Changing Adult Diaper

If you are caring for a disabled person or a person who is no longer able to care for themselves, it's important to learn how to change their diaper when needed.

Now for most of us who are at home caregivers, we have assistance from programs that allows trained individuals to come in and take care of these needs. Even though this is great there will become a time when it will be you that has to take care of the changing.

Now I'm writing this articles because for a couple years I went about the wrong way in changing the diaper. I was lifting legs, pulling on the body to get to where I needed to get to, and different other wrong techniques.

After the first 6 months of doing this wrong my back was worn out. I had stretch and pulled so much until I was physically exhausted from it until I told a friend who worked in the industry about it.She informed me that I was doing it all wrong and that I should be using a drawsheet.

Now for those who have not heard of this technique, it is just a regular sheet that pretty much is folded in half and placed under the patient. It is the drawsheet that you would use to turn the person which direction you want without putting a strain on your back.After doing it a couple days, my back thanked me over and over for finding relief.

So, if you are changing the diaper on an adult and the person can't turn themselves over for you, I suggest you learn how to use a drawsheet. I will be making a video and embed it in this post to illustrate how it is used. In the mean time I suggest you go to youtube and type in drawsheet or changing adult diaper. Hope this brings relief to someone who may be hurting themselves trying to change a loveone.

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