If your elderly loved one gets diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, your mind might be a whirlwind of thoughts.
Your heart might be a crazy mixture of emotions. This disease can take a huge toll on you, your elderly loved one, and on anyone else that is involved with your loved one. With this being said, there are some Alzheimer’s disease tips for family caregivers. These tips can help you provide better care for your elderly loved ones and their disease.
Organization and Simplicity
The first way to help your elderly loved one if they have Alzheimer’s disease is to organize and simplify things in their home. This disease is going to affect your elderly loved one’s memory. The messier the belongings are in your loved one’s home, the more difficult things will be in their memory. It is important that everything they have is in its place. If there are things they don’t need, either store these away or get rid of them. Keeping things simple is going to help your elderly loved one not to get so overwhelmed. After you have their house organized and more simple, you and home care providers can help to keep it that way.
Planning Nutrition and Meals
It is also important that you and home care providers help your elderly loved one with planning nutrition and meals. Once your elderly loved one’s disease advances, they are going to need more and more help with this. They aren’t going to remember which foods are healthiest for them and which ones aren’t. They aren’t going to remember how to cook or what ingredients are needed for certain recipes. This is where you and home care providers can help out. By taking over these things, you can make things easier on your elderly loved one.
Companionship is Necessary
It is important that your elderly loved one has companions around as much as possible. If you and home care providers can take turns coming around, this can keep your elderly loved one socialized. The conversations and activities that you do with your elderly loved one can keep their brain sharper. This can help to slow down the progression of symptoms with their disease. In addition, having someone around can help to ensure your elderly loved one’s safety. This companionship can help to prevent wandering, as well.
Conclusion
These are some of the Alzheimer’s disease care tips for family caregivers. If your elderly loved one has been diagnosed with this disease, don’t hesitate to reach out for any help that you need. You can get help from home care providers, doctors, support groups, and other places, as well. With the help you get and with these tips, hopefully, you can provide better care for your elderly loved one.