Here’s How to Deal with Alzheimer’s & Dementia Patients Effectively

Before we jump into how to handle the patients suffering from Alzheimer’s & dementia, it’s important to enhance our understanding of these mental conditions. So let’s focus on what exactly is Alzheimer’s disease first and then we will discuss how to deal with patients struggling with it. Alzheimer’s disease, which is commonly referred as Alzheimer’s can be best defined as a chronic neurodegenerative condition that affects people in old age.

Neurodegenerative disease is a condition wherein the brain cells called neurons start damaging, which eventually has a tremendous impact on the functioning of the brain. So, Alzheimer’s is a kind of disease that affect both the structure and function of neurons which eventually disturbs the way brain functions.

In layman’s term, it’s a progressive disease that worsens over time. What’s really important for you to understand here is Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. Almost 60-70% of people who are diagnosed with Dementia suffer from Alzheimer’s. Now if you talk about dementia, it’s crucial to understand that it’s not a particular condition but an umbrella term that stands for a wide variety of brain diseases, that affect a person’s thinking, remembering the reasoning, and communication abilities. In short, dementia is a progressive mental condition that includes a wide variety of signs and symptoms.

Although we have already discussed that both dementia and Alzheimer’s are found largely in older people, it doesn’t mean adults and children are not affected by them. And the fact that, we still don’t know what exactly leads to these conditions, perhaps that’s the reason they aren’t treated effectively even today. There are a lot of treatment options that are available for dementia and Alzheimer’s patients but they can’t fix these problems completely. All the treatments focus only on reducing the signs and symptoms of these conditions.

Signs & Symptoms of Dementia

• Difficulty in remembering the things that have happened recently is one of the most important signs of dementia. It means people who suffer from this disease struggle with memory loss.
• Another crucial sign of people struggling with dementia is that they face enormous communication issues
• Patients struggle with language issues, for example, as they find it really difficult to get the right words to express a particular thing while communicating with others
• They lose their ability to focus on their work, which is why they can’t perform any task effectively
• Their reasoning and judgment abilities also diminish with the passage of time

So, if an aging family member such as your mother, father, uncle or aunt is diagnosed with dementia, they will face tremendous issues in carrying out daily activities such as paying bills, remembering social and doctor appointments, and planning meals.

Signs & Symptoms of Alzheimer’s

• Memory loss that creates enormous problems in carrying out routine activities
• Execute them (because they struggle with short-term memory loss)
• Difficulty in carrying out daily activities at home such as bathing, eating, dressing, cooking, and cleaning etc.
• Difficulty in identifying family members, friends, and caregivers
• Difficulty in remembering places, time and date.

In addition to that, people suffering from this condition also face enormous visual challenges and language issues.

Now Let’s Talk About How to Handle Such Patients

It would be completely incorrect to say that, you can easily take care of your loved one who is suffering from above-mentioned conditions, especially if you are someone who lives an extremely hectic professional life. Nowadays, you face enormous challenges at your workplace and hence it becomes a bit difficult for you to give that much-needed attention to a loved one who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other similar forms of dementia.

Advantages of In-Home Care Services

There is no denying the fact that patients suffering from dementia need a lot of care and attention, and you can’t give round the clock duty at home, especially when you are working. People who do not have a job can definitely do that, but it’s hard to find such people. In short, it’s utterly crucial for you to join a job if you want to fulfill the requirements of your family, and hence you can’t give the required attention to a loved one who needs extra care.

One of the best ways to offers the required care to a loved one diagnosed with dementia is to book in-home care services from a renowned in-home care agency. Such agencies help you with reliable in-home caregivers who treat your loved ones extremely well. They take care of their needs like anything.

There are several advantages of hiring in-home caregivers so you must look forward to hiring one.

Your Parents Get Assistance in Personal Care

Dementia victims need enormous assistance in personal care. They need someone who can help them with bathing, dressing, and toileting etc. These are some of the basic daily activities that one must perform effectively to live a peaceful life. But those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia can’t even perform these activities independently, so if there is no one at home to attend them they will end up struggling a lot. 

They Get Help In Household Care

When your loved one can’t perform basic activities like bathing, then it’s unfair to expect from them that they will do the cooking, cleaning, shopping, and laundry on their own. So, it’s important that you have an in-home caregiver who can assist them with these activities. Since in-home caregivers are trained professionals they can definitely offer high-quality household care to your parents. If you have an in-home caregiver at home, then you do not have to think about things like whether the home is clean or not, whether your parents are eating at the right time or not, especially when you are in office.

They Get Assistance in Healthcare

One of the biggest advantages of in-home care services is that your parents get necessary assistance in healthcare. The in-home caregiver in question will look after medication management and appointments with a physician. In addition to that, where they face any issues, your in-home caregiver will offer full support.

And the best part of hiring an in-home caregiver is that your parents will get a companion with whom they can share their thoughts and feelings, while you are away from home.