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What to Do When Your Senior is Suffering From Dementia

Companion Care at Home in Orinda CA
Companion Care at Home in Orinda CA

Providing love and care not only gives the patients suffering from dementia an assurance of being taken care of, but also provides peace of mind to their family. This enables the family members to spend more time to make memories with their loved ones in their final chapter of life. However, it is not at all easy to give proper care when your loved one is diagnosed with dementia. In dementia, resisting care and stubbornness are classic behaviors of the seniors- and these situations frequently get family members into hot water. Companion care at home can be an excellent survival tool for your senior and their family deal with the difficulties of dementia.

Communicating with your loved ones:

It is very important when handling a dementia patient to communicate in there way- not your way. There are several techniques for that which are discussed below.

Do not get involved in physical or verbal disagreements: Do not push, nag or yell at your loved ones, even though they are not in a logical state. It will only make things worse. Arguing can actually damage your relationship with your loved ones.

Consider preferences: Always try to be considerate about the choices of your loved ones and try to minimize the denying the agency of the patient whenever possible.

Communicate in simple terms: Try to ask simple questions and make simple statements. In dementia it is normal to lose your ability for verbal comprehension. So, keeping communication to small sentences and simple questions can make thing easier for your loved ones.

Focus on positives: As much as possible try to have positive conversations with your loved ones, so that the confidence of your senior can be maintained.

Listen: When your loved ones start talking then let them complete their thought, rather than interrupting them. Listening to the patients can be really helpful to ease their stress.

Empathetic behavior: Always act empathetically towards the patients. This will bond a new bond of trust and faith.

Consider companion care at home: Hiring professionals like companion care at home is a part of the process for the betterment of the situation for the patient- and for the family too.

Conclusion: What to Do When Your Senior is Suffering From Dementia

It is very natural that a senior would feel most comfortable around their family and known caregivers. They even feel safe in a familiar environment that leads them to express every side of themselves – including frustrations. But in case of dementia, sometimes adverse situations are also likely to occur due to the extreme difficulty of the disease. Behavioral disorder is a very common phenomena in these cases.

Companion care at home can make a difference for you and your loved ones both. Your senior may be frustrated and clinically ill, but loss of their independence and restrictions of their day to day routine can make them fragile on the inside- which requires healing too. Companion care at home can help resolve these issues and give your senior the help and independence they need while dealing with a difficult disease. Call us today and see how companion care at home can help you today!

Sources:

Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care: Help for Family Caregivers


https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/special-issues/seniors/dealing-dementia
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4032087/

If you or an aging loved one is considering companion care at home in Orinda, CA, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Walnut Creek. (925) 203-3039.

How to Make Your Senior’s Doctor Appointments More Productive

In-Home Care in San Ramon CA
In-Home Care in San Ramon CA

Many senior citizens have to go to the doctor quite a bit. They may have to see their primary care doctor once a year or more. If the elderly person has health problems, they may need to see a cardiologist, pulmonologist, allergist, or other types of doctors.

Do you often have to take your elderly loved one to their doctor’s appointments? If so, there are some tips on how to make their appointments more productive.

Being Prepared for Every Appointment

One of the best tips regarding your elderly loved one’s appointments with a doctor is to be prepared for all of them. When your elderly loved one needs an appointment, it might be best if you or a senior care provider makes it. This way, there will be no mix-ups with the date or time. You can make sure someone is able to drive them to and from their appointment. In addition, you or the in-home care providers can make sure your loved one’s insurance cards are available and the paperwork is filled out.

Make a List of Questions

For some appointments, you may not have a lot of questions. However, there are going to be some doctor’s appointments for your elderly loved one that you have questions about. For example, what if your elderly loved one has to see a cardiologist after a heart attack? You are going to have questions about how to prevent another heart attack, what medications they need to take, and how to improve the health of their heart. Making a list of the questions you have can make things go smoother at the appointment. The list can also help to ensure you aren’t forgetting anything when going to the appointment.

Understanding the Treatment Plan

It can be very helpful for you or an in-home care provider to attend doctor’s appointments with your elderly loved one. The reason for this is so someone is there to understand the treatment plan. Oftentimes, elderly people will go to their doctor’s appointments, but forget what the doctor told them by the time they get home. If you or a home care provider goes to the appointments, there won’t be confusion about the treatment plan.

Conclusion

Does your elderly loved one have a lot of doctor’s appointments? If so, the tips mentioned above can help to make those appointments more productive. In addition, if you follow through with those tips, you can help to ensure your loved one commits to their treatment plan.

Sources
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/doctors-appointments-tips-caregivers

If you or an aging loved one is considering in-home care in San Ramon, CA, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Walnut Creek. (925) 203-3039.