Senior Helpers of Moorestown NJ Talks about Alzheimer’s Care Advice for Caregivers

Senior Helpers of Moorestown NJ Talks about Alzheimer’s Care Advice for Caregivers

By peter mangiola. RN BSN

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Alzheimer’s Care Advice for Caregivers

Caring for an Alzheimer’s patient can be one of the most stressful duties a nursing professional may have to undertake. Alzheimer’s care is definitely not for the faint of heart. It requires a great deal of patience and understanding to provide the level of care that good professional caregivers are committed to.

To help with these tasks and to ease the frustration of both the caregiver and the Alzheimer’s care patient, here are 5 things the in home caregiver can do:

1. Patience: This can’t be repeated enough. The number one quality of an effective Alzheimer’s caregiver is patience. When a person is suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, caregivers need to understand that even the simplest tasks can take three times as long (or longer) than they did before. Make sure to allow plenty of extra time for all the daily tasks.
2. Efficient Scheduling: Along these same lines, give your Alzheimer’s care patient a predictable schedule. The more they become comfortable with a schedule and routine, the easier they will be to deal with. In addition, make sure to schedule the harder things like taking a bath during parts of the day when the patient tends to be in a good mood.
3. Patient Involvement: One of the things that will help keep the patient in good spirits is if they are allowed to be involved with as much of the activity as possible. Especially on tasks they once did themselves without any problem, like eating, bathing, and putting on clothes.
4. Restrict Options: In some ways, dementia and Alzheimer’s care patients are like young children. They need someone to take care of many of the things necessary for survival. Just as with young children, it often works well with an Alzheimer’s patient to restrict the choices they have, so they don’t become overwhelmed and confused. For example, offer them just 2 choices for their lunch or afternoon activity.
5. Limit Distractions: Multi-tasking may be a part of everyday life for most of us living in this modern age, but for Alzheimer’s care patients, too many things going on around them can lead to greater difficulty and frustration. Try not to do too many things at once. For example, when they are eating, make sure to turn off the television. This will help them to better focus on their primary task.