Food, rest, safety at home... what daily routines can help?

Food, rest, safety at home... what daily routines can help?

Alzheimer's is the main cause of dependency in the elderly

Alzheimer's disease and dementias are the leading cause of dependency among the elderly. Dementia is a term that generically refers to several neurodegenerative diseases, generally progressive, that affect memory -as the best-known symptom-, but that also have a significant impact on the patient's cognitive abilities and behavior. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for 60-70% of all cases.

If you want to know more about this pathology, here you have all the information.

Basic points to keep in mind

Taking care of a person with Alzheimer's means being vigilant 24 hours a day. We must bear in mind that coping with the disease implies an adaptive change in families and has a special impact on the person who will play the role of the main caregiver. Families, caregivers, and caregivers will modify their interests, assume new roles or change their framework of relationships to respond to unexpected situations that will be difficult in the emotional, social, work, family, economic and physical fields.

For all this, it is important:

· Carry out good planning as soon as possible: early diagnosis when Alzheimer's is suspected will allow the future of the patient-caregiver pairing (the other great protagonist of this stage) to be designed with a greater guarantee of success.

· Think both about maintaining the patient's autonomy for as long as possible, and about preventing the emotional and physical exhaustion of the caregiver, which can lead to claudication.

· Take into account the most frequent overload factors that are in:

-The relationship between the caregiver and the patient: the greater the emotional closeness, the greater the involvement and stress.

-How the family member assumes the role of caregiver: it is convenient to develop a positive approach to the care process and this is not faced as an imposition from which it is impossible to escape.

-Age and gender: some research reveals a greater sense of overload in male caregivers and in older people.

-The time that you have been working as a caregiver: the more time, the better patient management, but more accumulated fatigue.

-The economic situation: a better economic situation facilitates access to resources and respite.

-Not having the help and support of family or friends.

Needs presented by families of Alzheimer's patients

When living with a person with Alzheimer's disease, families state:

· Training needs and information on care for this disease.

· Guidance in some subjects: hygiene, uninhibited behavior, irritability, behavioral changes, wandering, repetitive language, and communication; all of their situations that caregivers identify as the most stressful, together with the need to guarantee the patient's own safety.

· Practical aspects of coexistence: these are the ones that generate the greatest insecurity and stress for the patient-caregiver pairing.

Guidelines to facilitate coexistence between caregiver and patient

To address these situations, the World Alzheimer's Confederation (CEAFA) proposes some habits and daily routines related to certain aspects of coexistence:

· Clothing: For a person with Alzheimer's disease, the simple act of choosing and putting on clothes can be frustrating. Caregivers must facilitate this task and ensure that it is the patient who does it for as long as possible, to maintain, as much as possible, her autonomy. To do this, some tricks that make everyday life easier are:

-Use garments that are easy to put on, with large buttons or velcro, and with a front closure.

-Substitute lace-up shoes for others with adhesive closure, non-slip soles, no heels, and a wide last.

· Bathing, cleaning, and use of the WC: in hygiene, it must be taken into account that, in advanced stages, patients resist activities with physical contact and may have outbreaks of aggression. However, this is not a deliberate reaction and one should not react sourly to them. Above all, in daily cleaning, patient safety must be safeguarded with the following guidelines:

-Avoid using electric stoves in the bathroom or taking care to use the hairdryer and razor.

-Preferably use a shower with non-slip mats and handles.

-Take advantage of the moment of the bath to monitor the state of the skin in search of wounds, redness, and bruises.

-Dry the patient well, paying special attention to skin folds.

-Observe behaviors that indicate that the patient wants to go to the toilet: the advance of Alzheimer's causes a loss of control of the sphincters, so it is important to establish a time routine for the patient and reduce fluid intake two hours before bedtime.

· Food: it is very important in patients with Alzheimer's because they tend to stop eating in advanced stages when the risk of choking makes mashed foods and the use of thickeners in liquids necessary.

In general lines:

-It is not necessary to have a special diet: the diet must be varied and fluid intake frequent.

-Sometimes, the patient may refuse to open his mouth: in this case, it is useful to touch him gently with the spoon on the chin or lips or resort to imitation.

-It is advisable to use bibs and avoid getting angry if it gets stained.

· Rest: adequate sleep is important for the quality of life of the patient and their families, since bad mood, aggressiveness, nocturnal disorientation, or exhaustion of the caregiver and the rest of the family are avoided. Therefore, it is essential:

-Keep the patient active during the day.

-Avoid taking very long naps or going to bed too soon.

-Establish a daily routine to put him to bed and get him up.

· Physical exercise: moving regularly improves cerebral blood flow and the physical condition of the patient, reducing the risk of falls, which are the main cause of injury in the elderly. You have to make sure that the environment is safe:

-Avoid obstacles, disorder, or barriers.

-Limit the use of carpets or fix them well to the ground.

-Clear the places of passage.

-Maintain good lighting.

-Put handrails and non-slip bands on stairs.

· Safety at home: their own home is the ideal environment for people with Alzheimer's disease since it is the space they know and their history lived in that place that helps them to be more oriented and comfortable. However, there may come a time when they cannot maintain their safety and that of others, due to disorders such as confusion, aggressiveness, erratic wandering, and difficulty moving. These disorders necessitate some modifications to the house so that it remains a safe and comfortable place. Among them, the following stand out:

-Changing the kitchen burners, and avoiding gas in the stove.

-Keep knives and sharp objects out of sight.

-Protect plugs.

-Isolate sources of heat, such as stoves and radiators.

-Remove flammable or corrosive liquids.

· Disorientation: it can be a big problem for the caregiver and for the person with Alzheimer's if they become disoriented or even lost when they are away from home. For this reason, this reason is important:

-Prevent the family member from leaving the house alone and make sure that the door is closed and the latch is on.

-If necessary, hang a musical element above the door.

-Use bracelets or necklaces where it is indicated that the patient has Alzheimer's and the telephone number or address where they should take him if someone finds him. At present, there are numerous monitoring and location devices on the market, such as watches or others, which are very suitable.

-Notify friends, merchants, and neighbors of the neighborhood of the disease that our family member suffers so that they can let them know if they see him alone.