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Keeping the Home Safe for Loved Ones with Alzheimers
When I first read this article, I found myself nodding my head frequently in agreement. Hours and hours wasted online searching for useful information about this topic had led me to find this one - and it was great.
After reading it, I wanted to share it with others and asked for permission to reproduce it on my site. Thankfully, the author agreed - and so I proudly present this valuable article for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.
Making the decision to care for loved ones with Alzheimer's disease is a worthy endeavor. Those days you spend with them are priceless and you will long remember them after they are gone. However, as your loved one slips deeper into the disease, they will lose their battle with judgment and start to do things that make no sense and can possible harm themselves unintentionally. And because you must sleep at some time, there are precautions that must be taken to ensure that your loved one can remain safely at home.
Some caregivers may choose to hire a professional that specializes in child-proofing homes. They can help identify some of the dangers that you may not think about. While this option does not take care of all the potential hazards, it is a good start and can even spur new ideas and solutions for safeguarding your home for your loved one with Alzheimer's disease.
Locks installed in various areas of your home are most likely the first step in safety. The windows and doors leading to outdoor places are important. Alzheimer's sufferers sometimes wander off, so the locks will prevent them from leaving the safety of your home without your knowledge. Taking away locks on bedrooms, closets and bathrooms are also helpful if they lock themselves in. When this happens, patients can panic and it takes quite an effort at times to calm them back down.
Sidenote: Hope you're finding this useful? I have always been curious about this matter. And when I found very little quality information about it, I decided to share a part of what I've learned about it - which is why this article came to be written. Read on.
Childproof cabinets and drawers that might contain potentially hazardous substances. Cleaning supplies, insecticides and detergents are important to keep out of reach. In their haze of Alzheimer's, the patient might accidentally think the items are something consumable and try to eat or drink it. Make sure that over the counter and doctor prescribed medications are locked away as well. Walk around your kitchen and bathroom. Look for anything else that can potentially harm your loved one. Kitchen knives, weapons, lighters, matches and razors should be kept safely out of their hands.
Electrical cords should be hidden behind furniture or put away. Safety guards should be installed over electrical outlets so that your loved ones cannot stick anything harmful in them and potentially get electrocuted or be given a bad shock. Installing motion detectors, baby monitors and even unobtrusive video monitors might give you the peace of mind if you cannot always be in the same room. Install child locks on the oven and consider automatic safety switches on there as well.
Make sure the lighting is bright enough to avoid accidents. Night lights in the hallways and in your loved one's bedroom might be helpful. Installing assistance bars in the bath area will help protect your Alzheimer's patient from harming themselves. Remove area rugs or use skid guard on the undersides of them to prevent slipping and other accidents.
"Alzheimer proofing" your home could take a while. There will probably be things you would not have thought of until something happens. Just know that you are doing the best you can and that it is a learning process for both you and your loved one suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Now that you've learned something about this topic, maybe you want more information or need greater detail about certain specific issues.
I encourage you to explore this site, read a few more articles on related topics, and get even greater insight into the subject.
And if there's any way I can help you, please write. We welcome feedback and thrive on your support.
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