How to Care for a Loved One With Dementia
If you take care of someone with dementia, you have unique goals to accomplish. When you use the right dementia care strategies, you and your loved one can live happier and healthier lives. These five tips for caring for relatives with dementia will help you through all stages of the disease.
1. Arrange Financial and Legal Plans
People who have dementia become vulnerable to legal and financial exploitation. Dementia also brings new expenses you need to take into account. Putting together a strategy for your loved one’s documents and finances will put everyone’s mind at ease. Try to create a financial plan and assign a power of attorney in the earlier stages of dementia. When you start early, your loved one can have an active role in the decision-making.
2. Understand the Symptoms of Dementia
When taking care of your relative, dementia may bring about symptoms you don’t expect. Different types of dementia can affect specific areas of the brain, creating symptoms aside from memory loss. Dementia can cause personality changes, delusions, mood symptoms and confusion. Talk to your loved one’s doctor about the ways that dementia will impact your lives. Understanding your relative’s symptoms will help you figure out how to give them the best care.
3. Create a Safe Home
Dementia can turn everyday items and actions into hazards. Patients with dementia sometimes develop risks of falling or wandering away from home. With the right precautions, you can keep your mind at ease and ensure your loved one’s safety. Check your home for trip hazards and install assistive objects like rails to prevent falls. You can reduce the risk of wandering by registering for an alert program for dementia patients.
4. Make Decisions Easier for Your Loved One
Decision-making gets difficult when you have dementia, but your loved one will still want to make independent choices. You can establish a level of independence by reducing the options presented to your relative. For example, you can give them two dinner recipes to choose between instead of asking what they want for dinner. Your relative gets to feel less overwhelmed while having a degree of autonomy.
5. Let Others Help
Caregiving takes dedication and effort, and you can get assistance with that work. You can find help in many places if you know where to look. If you have loved ones who want to support you, take them up on those offers. Research community resources such as your area’s senior agency. Senior care providers can also lend a hand when you need extra help.
Home Care for Dementia Patients
At CareGivers of America, we refer seniors and their loved ones to experienced caregivers who provide home services. Every caregiver we provide has insurance, background clearance and training that put your mind at ease. We can connect you with a professional who specializes in dementia care who understands your relative’s condition. You can interview our caregivers for free before hiring them, so you know you made the right choice.
Complete our online contact form or call us at (954) 206-1178 to get started today.
