Alzheimer’s is a brain disorder that relates to memory loss and progresses with age. With time, this disease eventually affects the ability to talk and respond to the surroundings, leading to the inability to carry out even the smallest daily chore like changing clothes or eating.
On Alzheimer’s caregiver education week, our article talks about extra care and safety concerns and tips for Alzheimer’s patients. If you have someone in your life going through Alzheimer’s, this article is for you.
Alzheimer’s Care Staff Education Week
Survey results showed that in 2020, nearly 5 million Americans had Alzheimer’s and this number is expected to triple by 2060.
With the exponential growth of this disorder, it is the need of the hour to create awareness about the values new practices can bring to treat such patients.
This is the reason why Alzheimer’s care staff education week is observed every year in Feb since 2007. The purpose of this educational week is to equip the patient’s family and caregivers with the necessary knowledge and resources to face future challenges. Well-informed and systematically trained caregivers can elevate the quality of life of such patients.
The education week aims to raise Alzheimer’s treatment awareness nationally and internationally. You cannot cure this disease but these are some of the initiatives you can take for your loved one:
- Learn about the condition
- Create a safe environment
- Engage in physical and mental activities
- Establish a routine
- Seek support
- Consider respite care
- Plan for the future
Life With Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s once diagnosed can last for almost a decade. Life with this disorder is not the easiest, to say the least. There is a behavior pattern that is observed at every stage that involves scads of safety concerns. Here is what you need to know:
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Daily Support
Alzheimer’s patients need support in their daily life chores – from choosing clothes suitable for the weather to brushing their hair. Some even lose their control over bowel or urinary movements. Such cases can lead to worst-case scenarios.
Aggressive itching, infections, heated arguments, and catastrophic endings can be the result if they are left alone.
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Memory Impairment
One of the biggest effects Alzheimer’s has on the patient is memory impairment. They may lose track of their personal history, including not remembering their name, where they live, and the inability to recognize their family members.
They may also lose their sense of awareness which can impair their decision-making process. Most of the time, such patients wander off to find a familiar location and get lost in the process.
A personal safety device equipped with GPS technology provides peace of mind. It allows you to constantly monitor the real-time location of your loved one with Alzheimer’s, reducing the risk of harm and the stress of worrying about their safety.
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Communicative Breakdown
With time, these Alzheimer’s patients face word loss. Even if they know what they intend to communicate, amnesia of words takes place. This is mainly because the brain’s left temporal lobe gets blunt.
Feelings, ideas, and needs are all narrowed down to facial expressions. This builds frustration and even aggression in these patients. Self-harm can be a big safety concern. That is why it is advisable to monitor these patients 24/7.
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Restricted Physical Movements
Abnormal reflexes and rigid muscles become a familiar sight in the later stages of this disorder. Walking, sitting or even holding the head up without support can become vague. These become the perfect stance for fall or slip injuries.
Calling for help may become something even vaguer in these unfortunate instances. With a panic button at hand, you can rest easy knowing that they can reach out for help right away in case of an emergency.
Alzheimer’s Home Safety Checklist — Establishing Safety Measures
Since Alzheimer’s patients are left with restricted ability to move, talk or perform any routine chores, it is advised to create a hazard-free environment around them. Here are a few safety tips that you can follow.
- Installing webcams or baby monitors in the room where they sleep is a necessity so that they can be monitored and kept away from anything unfortunate.
- To prevent self-harm, all unsafe items like scissors, knives, electrical wiring, and chords should be kept out of their reach.
- The bathroom should be equipped with safety handles/grab bars, bath rails, and anti-slip mats.
- All locks from bathroom doors and bedroom doors should be immediately removed.
- Provide easy access to things like remotes while reducing clutter and keeping the house well-lit.
- Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the house.
Panic Buttons – The Ultimate Support
Medical alert devices like a panic button empower Alzheimer’s patients to have a lesser dependency on others. A panic button is the best means of emergency communication for Alzheimer’s patients. It can provide the greatest possible level of support and protection for them.
These small yet highly helpful panic buttons like Silent Beacon enable calls to emergency centers and desired contacts with a quick response time. The user just needs to press one button to send out multiple distress signals to their emergency contact list. As a loved one, you’ll always know where the patient is even if they wander off.
Easy wearability, small size, water resistance, and fire-retardant plastic make them more appealing for people in such situations. These devices provide a sense of security and reassurance to their loved ones and caregivers as well.
Final Thoughts
There is no definite cure for Alzheimer’s discovered yet. But great advancement in health care has led to discoveries of medicines that can slow down the process or reduce the symptoms – though not permanently.
The downward slope of the abilities of an Alzheimer’s patient is inevitable, yet support from the family and caregivers is the main thing that can help them cope with the disease in a better way.
For the well-being of Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers, personal safety devices play a pivotal role. A panic button is the most convenient way for patients to call for help when they need assistance — just one press of a button and Bingo!
Silent Beacon’s Panic button is the best safety device you could invest in for your loved one who is going through Alzheimer’s. Order one today and join hands together for tackling the uncertainties that come with this disorder.
