Over five million men and women in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s. The number of people with Alzheimer’s is expected to triple over the next 30 years. If you have a parent with Alzheimer’s, you already know how serious it is.
World’s Alzheimer’s Day takes place each year on September 21st. When you’re mom or dad has the disease, you need to carefully watch the progression of the symptoms. Arranging home care services early helps your parent become familiar with the caregiver. That will help as the memory declines.
Meal Preparation
While your mom or dad’s memory may decline, mobility doesn’t always decline at the same rate. Your parent may still feel capable of cooking, but the memory gets in the way.
It’s best to hire caregivers to help with meals early on. You don’t want your parent to put something in the oven to cook, forget it’s in there, and start a fire.
Medications
In the early stages of Alzheimer’s, it’s not hard to forget to take medications. Later on, your mom or dad will need a reminder. If no one is there to watch your parent take medications and offer reminders, medications will be skipped.
Sundowning
Sundowning may have your mom or dad becoming very agitated at night after the sunsets. Sleep patterns get thrown off. Your dad may only sleep for 30 minutes here and there, which makes it impossible for you to get a full night’s sleep.
Wandering
Not every person with Alzheimer’s wanders, but it can be alarming if it happens. You don’t want your mom or dad to be alone on a walk and disappear. It becomes hard for a person to remember how to get home, so wandering takes them too far from home to safely return.
Delusions may worsen wandering. Your dad may become distressed that a distant neighbor stole something belonging to him and go off on a mission to get it back. Your mom may think her dog ran off, only she doesn’t have a dog so there’s no dog to find.
One thing is important when it comes to Alzheimer’s. You cannot wait to arrange home care. If you wait too long, you could put your parent in danger. Wandering, delusional behavior and difficulty cooking can put your mom or dad at risk of harm.
Home care aides can be with your mom or dad when you can’t be. It keeps your parent safe and gives you peace of mind while you’re at work or running errands.
Sources:
https://www.alz.org/
