Caring for aging parents is a challenging task. But it is much more burdensome when dealing with parents having dementia at home. Unfortunately, cognitive and behavioral changes from dementia make parents resist the care provided.
Before caring for a parent with dementia at home, it is crucial to understand the disease and the type of care required. That will benefit your parent plus your mental health. One of the most pronounced stages of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. The symptoms in type get rigorous as time pass.
A Five-Step Guide Plan for Dementia Parents At Home
The needs of the parent with dementia increase as the disease progress in them. That makes it a necessity for closely coordinating with their physician. Getting professional help makes things easy at your end.
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Safe-Proofing Your Home
Like baby-proofing, your house needs to drop the risk of hazards. As the stage progresses, you need to make changes to reduce the fall risk. Your parents can enjoy the comfort of home by adding a layer of safety. And not to deny the fact of having a lot of patience too.
Few things to consider while safe-proofing your house are the
- Keep access to hazards things out of reach,
- Installing a concealed gas valve to prevent kitchen catastrophes,
- Easy access to emergency numbers and addresses,
- Add safety stickers and install grab bars in the toilets and
- Light the rooms and walkaways through the day.
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Learn and Research About Dementia.
What seems logical to you might not work well with your parents in this disease. Things can’t work on intuitions while dealing with a parent with dementia.
Always consult with the physicians and take their advice on what to provide or not. It’s advisable to have a nurse at home who can guide and help your paths at caregiving at home.
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Find Resources for Coping Self-Mental Health.
Dealing with dementia parents is difficult. That may overwhelm you with the caregiving stress. There must be a feeling of grief as the disease progress, and you know you may soon lose your parent.
To smoothen yourself from the stress, try comparing notes with the others who have dealt with it before. Don’t gulp everything on your own. Rather seek help and support from your family or old age caretaker or patient care service.
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Make things Clear with Children and Family Members on Caregiving.
Children need to know what situation and difficulty the grandparents are facing. Not explaining to children about dementia can make things worse. Rather than making things odd, explain to everyone in the family about dementia.
That will encourage all the members of the family to support the caregiving to the patient. Hence, create a less stressful and more manageable environment.
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Seek For Outside Help.
As the disease will progress, your parent will be completely dependent on you for all their needs. At this point, your research and learning won’t be enough for you to take care of your parent. In such situations, it’s time to pull in help from the home health care.
These home health care providers have the expertise to deal with such patients. Their help will add an advantage to you and your family members. Plus, brings in more self and family time for everyone involved in caregiving. Learn more about – Difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s
Final Takes
As a rising health-crisis in India, Dementia is one of the most unpredictable diseases. Its progress can vary from person-to-person. Dealing with the beloved parents in such situations makes things tough. It requires a lot of patience and effort from your end.
To make things convenient for all, seek help and knowledge from the professionals and experts in the field.