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Loved Ones with Alzheimer How to care for your loved one |
| Sunday, July 19, 2009 |
In instances when loved ones deal with Alzheimer’s disease, the family must learn to change their lifestyle to accommodate everyone. For instance, if your loved one is cared for in your home, it is smart to keep the furniture in the same location at all times. The action can help your loved one feel comfortable. It may become frustrating for those who enjoy moving their furniture around; yet if you move even one chair, the loved one could accidentally fall.
At the start, Alzheimer’s disease will affect the loved one, which mild symptoms may appear. If you notice memory loss, it may be likely that your loved one is heading toward dementia. Dementia is the progressive stage of Alzheimer’s disease.
At the first stage of Alzheimer's disease, your loved one may drift mentally in and out of time. The loved one may find it difficult to recall long-term details, and may even forget short-term names, numbers, etc. The memory loss may affect the caregiver, since the patient will start to develop behavior patterns that change often, such as aggression, passive, aggression. The loved one may forget their location as well.
Once the disease develops, driving can become a challenge. The person may take a short trip, which turns out to be a long travel. The person may head off to a destination he or she has been to a hundred times, yet the person may loose memory, which causes him or her to get lost.
Your loved one may even find it difficult to recall things that happen ten minutes early, however the patient may recall details of something that took place five years earlier. The condition, Alzheimer’s seems to affect short-term memory and gradually works it way to damage the long-term memory.
Alzheimer’s patients have a hard time remembering short-term details. The long-term details are carved in their mind, which often the patient will recall happy events. Let the patient take pleasure in his or her lovely memories. The patient is already robbed of his or her short-term mind.
Besides memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease will affect care. For instance, the person may become aggressive when asked to take a bath. If the patient is not monitored, he or she may refuse to bathe. In some instances, a patient may take a bath, yet feel frightened of the water. The patient may think that the water will damage their skin. They may even feel as though they are drowning.
Alzheimer’s disease develops into dementia. Alzheimer’s disease usually starts slow, but will progress degenerative symptoms as it develops into dementia.
This is the time to stay on your toes, since your loved one may feel angry. The caregiver may be the target of that anger, which the patient does not realize what he or she is doing. Sometimes the loved one may feel angry at the caregiver, especially if the provider spends a lot of time with the patient. In some instances, your patient may view you as a mean and nasty person. Do not take offense, since this person is striking out at a disease that is robbing them of life.
How is Alzheimer’s disease treated?
Presently, a few medications available assist with treating the condition. The medications can help make the patients life easier. Since no cure is available, doctors are constantly looking for answers, and will often-prescribed medications that have proven to help patients with Alzheimer's disease.
What happens when the condition worsens
as the condition progresses, the patient will slowly sink into his or her own arena. At this stage, the patient may cease eating, or may become incontinent. The patient may also refuse his or her medications believing that the caregiver is giving them poison. As you can see, Alzheimer’s disease sets up patients for paranoia conditions as well. |
posted by neptunus @ 10:25 PM  |
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