{"id":879,"date":"2017-10-06T18:07:28","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T23:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/apfp\/understanding-dementia-care-needs\/"},"modified":"2024-04-07T14:00:18","modified_gmt":"2024-04-07T21:00:18","slug":"understanding-dementia-care-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aparadiseforparents.com\/understanding-dementia-care-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Dementia Care Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

When dementia begins to set in, you may notice disturbing new behaviors in your aging loved one. Dementia doesn\u2019t just bring about memory loss, and\u00a0the secondary symptoms associated with dementia can be quite difficult to understand, let alone deal with. As a caregiver for someone with dementia, you may find it confusing to know what care you should be providing.<\/p>\n

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Communication Issues<\/b><\/p>\n

Patients with dementia often have trouble with communication, and may communicate with anger or sarcasm. This is often due to their own feelings of frustration, or it could be they are experiencing secondary symptoms of dementia associated with behavioral issues.<\/p>\n

When\u00a0someone with dementia says something that is not factually correct, the temptation is to explain to them what is actually going on. This may lead to confusion and frustration on the part of the person with dementia. Before caregivers correct the person with dementia, they should think about how important it is for the person to know they are wrong. If it\u2019s not that important, caregivers can just play along and make the person with dementia feel good that they have someone who listens to them.<\/p>\n

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Behavioral Is<\/b>sues<\/b><\/p>\n

Dementia is a condition of the brain that can affect personality and behavior. The dementia patient may behave in unfamiliar ways that cause concern. These changes in behavior may include physical aggression toward the caregiver, self, or others, and\u00a0may also include an unwillingness to get out of bed, wandering, or drastic mood swings. When choosing an assisted living care home for your loved one with dementia, make sure the facility has guidelines and precautions in place to compassionately and effectively deal with the common behavioral issues related to dementia.<\/p>\n

Many times people with dementia think they will be perfectly fine staying at home. They don\u2019t need the care. It\u2019s very hard for someone to admit they can\u2019t be on their own anymore. Because of this, many of the residents who come to our homes demand to go home during the first couple of days of their stay. It makes it even more difficult if the resident\u2019s family is with them during this transition period. We highly recommend to our families\u00a0that they need to stay away from visiting their loved one for a couple of days to a week after move-in. After that the resident is usually pretty well adjusted and the family can start regular visits.<\/p>\n

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Personal Hygiene Issues<\/b><\/p>\n

Dementia patients have something in common with depressed persons in that they may have problems maintaining personal hygiene. You may find that your loved one with dementia either forgets to groom himself or herself or shows no desire to do so. In these instances, it\u2019s imperative that a caregiver or hired professional monitor personal hygiene habits and be prepared to step in when necessary to make sure the dementia patient is physically cared for. Depending on the level of dementia, this care may include:<\/p>\n