How to Care for an Alzheimer’s Patient

In 2016, the United States recorded a higher number of nearly 5.7 people with Alzheimer’s disease. This is true based on the CDC (Center for Disease Control and patient. Alzheimer’s patients receive assistance daily from their partners, family members, and close friends. In this article, we explore home care services in the Bay Area, drawing our main focus on how to help patients with Alzheimer’s conditions.

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer's is a health condition that damages people's brain cells, affecting their memory, behavior, and thoughts. Many people suffering from such a disease may require a caregiver's attention for more than five years. They may need a professional caregiver who is ready and willing to walk with a patient throughout this long journey. Many care agents with qualified staff can offer Alzheimer's care in the Bay Area at a bearable cost.

The condition’s symptoms keep changing with the progress of the disease, which brings forth new challenges every day. Understanding the progressive nature and the entire signs of the disease can help plan ahead—the disease moves through three known phases: mild, moderate, and severe stages.

The Mild Stage

This is the early stage of this disease, and patients in this stage can still carry out their routine tasks independently. While at this stage of Alzheimer’s disease, patients may find it difficult to focus and remember recent events like words or names. They may also find it difficult to solve problems and write.

Moderate stage

This stage involves significant symptoms like confusion and memory loss. Patients may experience the following symptoms at this stage:

Difficulty in handling routine tasks such as bathing and dressing up

Unable to master the route and directions.

- Difficulty in recognizing people around them

- Trouble falling asleep or restlessness

- Becoming unorganized and difficult to follow instruction

- Personality changes

- Inconsistency in urinary and fecal practices

Severe Stage

Patients at this stage require assistance with almost every task, such as eating, bathing, walking, and sitting up. Patients may start experiencing conversation problems. They may also experience challenges while swallowing or chewing food. Patients lose their awareness ability and can no longer recognize people around them.

Caring for an Alzheimer’s Patient

Create A Routine

A professional caregiver can establish a constant daily routine that will make the patient feel comfortable. This routine reinforces the sense of familiarity in an Alzheimer's patient. Finding a qualified caregiver means you are bringing in someone competent at what they do. Caregivers should not make significant changes to a routine without considering a patient opinion, as this can bring more confusion to them.

However, sometimes certain changes cannot be avoided at any cost, such as switching care settings or introducing a new care provider. Alzheimer's patients, like any other people, require considerable time to adjust to any changes like places and people around them.

Plan Activities

A good caregiver will always plan ahead to keep their loved ones engaged in activities throughout. They can be involved in various tasks but ensure they are always under watch. Some of these activities include:

- baking and cooking

- daily exercises like walking, light weight training, and stretching

- music listening

- dancing

- going to a favorite scenery such as the museum, park, and restaurant,

- household chores like laundry folding and gardening

- playing selected game

- watching movies

- visiting family and friends

It is good to plan for a possible outing during the day when the Alzheimer's individual is in a good mood. Some Alzheimer's patients may have the brightest mood in the morning, while some become lively at night. A caregiver may keep on the person during the outing and always ensure they break and get back home before they are exhausted.

Promote Ongoing Communication

People with Alzheimer's may have communication problems. They may fail to remember or interpret certain words. At some point, the patient may lose their train of thought while communicating. Caregivers can engage them in the following to ease communication:

- Keep smiling and maintain eye contact with them

- only ask them one question at a time and give them time to answer

- remain calm when they become angry

- speak softly with a calming voice

- try using relaxed and open body language

Help Them Serve Well-Balanced Nutritious Diet

There is various non-medical staffing in the Bay Area that offers care to Alzheimer's patients with a lot of professionalism. They understand the patient is to eat nutritious food and always stay hydrated. Alzheimer’s People may:

- forget when they took their last meal

- forget how to prepare their own food

- repeatedly eat the same food over some time

- unable to keep track of their meal schedule

- lose the sense to smell and taste foods

A good caregiver can ensure the patient:

- Serve the food at the right time

- Select food that is not hard to chew and swallow

- Serve the correct quality of food

- Take multivitamin

Boost Their Self-Esteem

A caregiver should ensure an Alzheimer's patient feels and looks good all the time. This can help alleviate their anxiety. A caregiver can assist patients with their routine practices, such as:

- trimming their nails

- brushing their teeth every day

- clothing them decently

- helping them keep their hair neat

- helping them put on makeup if they like wearing it

Keep Them Safe

Alzheimer's people go through many things in their daily lives that endanger their own lives. When walking around, they may not understand or interpret warning signs such as "slippery floor." A good caregiver should ensure:

- they have sturdy and comfortable shoes

- limiting the number of mirrors inside their rooms

- turning off all boilers and stoves when not in use

- taking their medication according to the doctor’s prescription

Conclusion

Alzheimer’s may require a devoted caregiver ready for the everyday challenges paused by the patient. Several home care agents with qualified healthcare staffing in the Bay Area can offer non-medical services to a family member with Alzheimer's at a favorable cost. Always ensure you do a background check about the home care agent and the staff before bringing them on board for the patient's safety.