Alzheimer’s disease can plunge both victim and caregiver into a sea of darkness. This week on Parents Are Hard To Raise, Diane shares some tips to get you through the night… Plus this week’s survival tip will make your toes curl.
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Resources and links for episode 16
Project Lifesaver provides timely response to save lives and reduce potential injury for adults and children who wander due to Alzheimer’s, autism, and other related conditions or disorders.
- Here’s a link to Responsive Stuffed Cat toy I talked about on a previous show. I’ve seen it help Alzheimers patients calm and occupied.
- Use locking thermostat covers in the home to prevent inadvertently shutting heat or air conditioning.
- Accidental scalding and burns are a problem with people suffering from dementia. Here are a few ways to prevent that from happening:
- Remove knobs from stove or use Knob Stopper or stove knob covers to help prevent accidents.
- Put reflective red adhesive tape around hot radiators
- Alzheimer’s sufferers tend to avoid walking on dull black surfaces. You can use to help prevent wandering. Place non-skid black colored mats at doorways or paint outside deck, porch or stoop with flat black paint. If you hate painting like I do, Anti-skid stair treads can be a great alternative. Use them to cover up a small area outside doorway or stairs where you don’t want the person to wander.
- You can also use specialized locks on cabinets doors and windows to keep them secure. The Door Guardian Door Reinforcement Lock is great for standard entry doors. for sliding patio doors, I personally love Cardinal Gates Patio Door lock I use them in my own home to prevent break-ins.
- Use fall management slippers instead of shoes— some people with dementia will wander when wearing shoes but not in slippers.
- It can also be helpful to label doors with specialized stop signs that can be stretched across open doors at eye-level.
- To prevent accidental scalding, set hot water heater no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 C)
- It’s also helpful to use this neat little gadget on your faucets that use LED lights that change colors with water temperature.
- Here’s the Shower Seat I recommend to my clients. It’s comfortable, stable, easy to keep clean and a great help to the caregiver when bathing a person with dementia. And since people with dementia can be frightened by water hitting them in the face, I also recommend a handheld showerhead.
- I also recommend using motion sensor alarms. You can get them in form of floor mats motion sensors, bed and chair alarms and motion sensors in hallways
- You can also use extra tall safety gates on stairs, porches and decks to prevent wandering and accidental falls.
