by If you are currently a caregiver for a dementia patient or a loved one, you should know that your duties are bound to change and become more challenging as the disease progresses. Dementia is a neurological condition and one that affects everything from memory to social interactions. And caring for a dementia patient can be extremely frustrating for a few caregivers. And that’s why you may want to review the following –
- Frustration: If you have enrolled in home care for dementia patients in Mansfield, then you should know that the first thing that you need to do is to limit or decrease the frustrations. As a dementia patient, chances are that your charge may get extremely frustrated and agitated over the simplest of tasks. It could be anything from brushing their teeth to taking a bath – you just need to be patient with them. Don’t let the frustration show but instead anticipate that these tasks will take longer to complete.
- Turn off the television: This may sound like a no-winner, but the fact is that dementia patients often find it difficult to focus. When your charge has reached that stage, then you need to turn off the telly so that he can focus better on what you’re talking about.
- Be quite flexible: When it comes to home care for dementia patients, the first thing that you need to learn as a caregiver is to become flexible. You must be adaptable and understand the simple fact that dementia patients can take a lot longer to finish even the simplest tasks. Essentially, that means that you need to become flexible, adopt an easy approach, and even become more tolerant regarding the patient’s habits. It could be something as simple as refusing to wear the same outfit two days in a row.
- Create a safe environment: The first thing that you need to do for your charge is to help create a safe environment. You must always triple-check the water temperature of the bath before you allow him to take a bath. Apart from this, you may also want to consider using locks in hazardous places like the gun cabinet, terrace, liquor cabinet, and more.
- Create a safe atmosphere: Caring for a dementia patient is easier said than done. The issue is further complicated by the fact that dementia is incurable and is bound to get progressively worse over time. And that’s why you must create a warm and friendly atmosphere, one that should enable your patient to relax and to be himself. Just know that as the disease progresses, each person develops different symptoms and acts out differently. And that’s why it is all the more essential to develop a warm and friendly manner, one that will enable your patient to relax.
- Smoking: Generally, dementia patients are discouraged from smoking but if your patient does, then it would be advisable to monitor him while he does so. This is to ensure that he does not harm himself nor sets anything on fire either.
No one claimed that caring for a dementia patient is anything but easy. It is downright difficult and quite frustrating. And that’s why it is worthwhile to check out these tips, especially if you are caring for a dementia patient. Just know that as the disease progresses, the symptoms are bound to become more challenging for homecare attendants and patients alike. Just read up more on dementia and take it a day at a time.
