Throughout the world, the World Health Organization reports around 50 million people have dementia. Alzheimer’s accounts for as many as 7 out of 10 dementia cases. Your mom is one of them, and your family is working on her care plan.
There’s one crucial thing to keep in mind with dementia. Your mom’s care cannot be one size fits all. You need to create a care plan for her that is easy to adjust as her symptoms progress. Here’s how.
Know the Stages and Possible Symptoms
Take time to learn about the different stages of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Even if your mom isn’t there yet, it’s good to know what could be coming up in the months and years to come.
As you learn more about the stages and symptoms, have a plan in mind to manage your mom’s care if she experiences the common symptoms. Not every Alzheimer’s patient has the symptoms you hear of. Some of the things you hear about may never happen.
- 27.8 percent of Alzheimer’s patients experienced aggressive behaviors
- Around 60 percent of Alzheimer’s patients wander at least once
- Up to 66 percent of people with dementia experience sundowning
- Between 22 (at home) and 80 (assisted living) percent of people with Alzheimer’s experience incontinence
- 69.5 percent of people with Alzheimer’s become paranoid
- 90 percent of people with Alzheimer’s experience delusions
With any of the symptoms, there is a chance your mom will never experience them. However, if you’re prepared, you can quickly arrange the home care services she needs at that stage.
Some Symptoms Will Happen
There are other symptoms of dementia that are bound to happen. You should arrange these care services as soon as possible. Giving your mom time to become acquainted with her caregiver is easier if she’s in the early stages.
Driving is one of those services. Once your mom is diagnosed, her doctor will recommend that she stops driving. There’s the chance she’ll forget how to get home. Her reaction times may slow down. Plus, her vision may diminish.
Housekeeping is another service that will help her. She may still clean her house each day, but she will become distracted and forget what she’s cleaned and what she hasn’t. As a result, her home may not be getting as clean as you expect.
Finally, you want to have caregivers helping her prepare meals. It’s too big a risk to have her cook something and forget it’s in the oven or on the stove. A kitchen fire can quickly get out of control and put your mom at risk.
Home care adapts to the client. If you start your mom with a list of services and find that some of them are not helping her as much as you’d hoped, you can change them. Add and drop services as needed without a hassle.
Are you ready to get started? It’s easy. Call to discuss pricing and home care services in her area.
Sources:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1064748118305293#
https://www.alz.org/help-support/caregiving/stages-behaviors/wandering
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3246134/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3028538/
https://clinmedjournals.org/articles/iauc/international-archives-of-urology-and-complications-iauc-3-027.php?jid=iauc
If you are considering home care in Columbia, MD, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Care at Home of Rockville. Call today: (301) 923-4707.
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