What Special Safety Measures Should You Take for a Senior With Alzheimer’s?

Home Care in Framingham MA

Safety is one of the most important considerations when you are on a home care journey with an elderly adult. When your parent is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, however, those safety measures become even more important. Seniors dealing with this form of dementia, as well as other forms, experience cognitive, memory, and even physical symptoms that can put their safety and health at serious risk. Putting special safety measures into place early in the experience and modifying them as increased need arises will help you to protect your loved one and give them the highest quality of life possible.
Some of the safety measures that you should put into place in your home care efforts for a senior with Alzheimer’s include:

• Appliance safety. Seniors with dementia may forget how to properly use an appliance, or may not have the judgement to use an appliance safely. In the earlier stages of the disease consider posting clear instructions that will help your parent to go through the steps of using the appliance safely and effectively. In more advanced stages you may need to remove or deactivate appliances such as toaster ovens, coffee makers, and the oven in order to make the kitchen safer for your elderly parent.
• Redirect your parent. Areas of the home that you take for granted may be very dangerous for your loved one. The kitchen, a stairwell, the basement, and storage rooms can pose many dangers that could cause serious injury or illness in a matter of moments. Find ways to disguise these areas or to prevent access to them. Hanging a decorative tapestry over the door to a storage area or installing a half-door to the kitchen can help redirect your parent so that they avoid these dangerous areas.
• Food safety. Seniors with dementia are at particular risk for developing foodborne illnesses. This is because they may not remember or understand the issues related to food safety, do not have the taste or smell acuity to detect spoiled food, or may forget to properly store or prepare food. Help prevent these issues from happening by ensuring that you or a non-medical caregiver is responsible for putting groceries away, disposing of expired or questionable food, and managing leftovers. Avoid keeping foods in the house that could be very dangerous, including raw poultry and pork, large portions of mayonnaise-based prepared salads, and large portions of leftovers.
• Driving safety. Driving is something that is very important to many adults. This is a form of independence and freedom, and ensures that your parent can get where they want and need to go when they want or need to be there. With Alzheimer’s disease, however, driving can become dangerous. Your parent may get disoriented or lost, may not remember driving rules, or could forget how to use particular features of the vehicle. Be prepared to tell your parent that the time has come for them to no longer drive and put measures into place to ensure that there is safe, reliable transportation available whenever necessary.

Source
http://www.alz.org/care/alzheimers-dementia-safety.asp