Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care: Help for Family Caregivers

Caring for an Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients can be a lot of work, which is why you need extra hands to better support the patients overall needs.

The stages of Alzheimer’s

There are many stages of dementia care needed for a patient. These are the three different stages a caregiver must acknowledge when dealing with a patient:

Early-stage caregiving: Most patients are able to function by themselves during this stage, and still can participate in daily social activities. The caregiver usually gives some support regarding planning for the day and keep them on track.

Middle-stage caregiving: This stage can be the longest for patients. Caregivers will have to give more attention to the patient’s symptoms as they start to progress. During this stage the patients starts to forget certain words and becomes more frustrated with themselves. The caregiver’s responsibilities are to be there most of the time for daily routines.

Late-stage Caregiving: During the last stage, comes with many difficulties in living a normal life. A patient can’t eat and swallow properly, needs assistance walking, needs injections. These patients need their full-time assistance from the caregiver.

What to expect:

Patients have to deal with many symptoms that come with dementia. It is important to know these expectations as a caregiver to better support the patient.

The main expectations from a dementia patient usually suffer from:

-Memory loss or confusion

-Repetition of words

-Hallucinations

-Anger

-Depression and anxiety

-Suspicion and delusions

-Wandering

Most of these signs are within the middle to last stages of the disease.

Help for Family Caregivers

Being a family caregiver for a patient who suffers from dementia can be a bit overwhelming. The caregiver’s role is to provide and support the patients with any symptoms that can come their way. This can be an emotional and stressful position a family member can be, because of unfortunate outcome that leads to this disease.

Having patience is the main goal to have as a caregiver. These are a few tips on how to properly cope and support a patient suffering with dementia.

-Aware of your body language

-Avoid hard questions or words

-Speak slow

-Take breaks

Sometimes being a caregiver can get a bit too stressful and feel like there is nothing left to do for them. Sending the patient to a hospice or palliative care facility could also be the best option for the last stages of dementia.

If you have any further questions regarding Alzheimer patients and what the next steps should be for them, don’t hesitate in reaching out to us at your preferred time.