With Alzheimer’s, it becomes emotionally very difficult for family members who are involved in the daily care of the patient. Here are a few tips to help family members manage their dear ones with Alzheimer’s disease:

Avoid generalising the memory loss

Alzheimer’s patients tend to not remember most things, due to which family members or care givers may tend to assume that they remember nothing. Such assumptions can be detrimental in the care of the patient as it further alienates them from the people around them and may set back their treatment and worsen prognosis.

Support them in retrospection and recollection

The ability of Alzheimer’s patients to remember diminishes with age, therefore patients tend to forget recent events more readily. Though they tend to remember cherished memories which are deeply engraved in their minds, talking about the old times helps them in recollecting those memories. Going through family photos, videos or reminiscing about events may help them to jog their memory in a relaxed manner without them feeling pressurised to recall something that they may have forgotten. Allow them to take the lead in a conversation.

Address them by their name

Based on the patient-caregiver relationship, it is important to call the patients by their name. This helps in keeping the relation in perspective and they become more acceptable of the people around them.

Create eye contact and sit at the same level

It is important to make the patient feel that they are being cared for. Eye contact plays a very important role in comforting them and creating a sense of belonging. Maintain eye contact with them. Instead of standing over them, sit at their level, as this helps in reducing the feeling of skepticism they may feel about your actions.

Help them understand

While speaking, keep the pace slow and talk to them in short sentences so they can comprehend better. Alzheimer’s impacts their capability to understand many different things at a time. If introducing a new person, activity or a change in their routine, be extra patient with them as they may have many questions or may take time to comprehend you.

Be patient with them

Many a times Alzheimer’s patients ask questions that can irritate and frustrate family members or caregivers. Therefore, the situation needs to be handled with patience. Talking to them like they are children may not work either. Also, one should not force them to recall anything during conversations as they may feel embarrassed and insulted. From time to time you can have a discussion with them, and get them to agree that they can just ask for answers when they are unable to recall something.

Build involving and consistent experience

It is not easy to involve Alzheimer’s patients in social activities at home. But the patient can be involved with other family members by engaging them through pictures and music. It is advisable not to shift their rooms or living place frequently as they take more time to adjust to the surroundings.

Take safety measures

Use anti-slip mats at home which can be replaced for the safety of the patient. Leave the lights switched on at night as they might lose direction at home or trip while walking. Make sure that the doors are locked to avoid the patient from wandering out. Inform neighbours about the patient’s condition, so that help can be sought quickly in case of an emergency or when the patient is alone at home. Keep the home—or at least the patient’s room—clutter free and devoid of any sharp objects or plastic bags, in order to avoid risk of injury or suffocation.

The post 8 Things You Can Do to Support a Loved One With Alzheimer’s appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Reduced sense of taste and smell

While everyone else is enjoying their meal, you’re the only one asking for a multitude of condiments to be passed. Or you notice that the foods that you’ve always loved don’t excite you anymore. Ageing may reduce your sensitivity to taste, because as you age, the number of taste buds on the tongue decreases. Also, your sense of smell plays a role in how you taste your food. The aroma of the food sends a signal to your taste buds to secrete more saliva. If this is not happening, your mouth produces less saliva and this causes dry mouth, which in turn can affect your sense of taste.

People who experience diminished taste and smell often get depressed, as food no longer has the joy it once held. The most appetising foods seem unappealing; and if you add excessive salt or sugar to compensate for the loss of taste it may wreak havoc with your blood sugar levels and blood pressure too [if you have hypertension]. Loss of taste can also cause a nutrition deficiency as you no longer have the desire to eat. Besides, you become unable to detect if the food has gone bad.

How you can beat it

• Get regular flu shots to keeps respiratory infections away
• Your medication might be altering your sense of taste; have your doctor adjust the dose or substitute it with something else
• Avoid allergens like pet dander, grass, dust and others
• Stopping or reducing smoking can significantly restore your sense of taste
• Instead of adding more salt or sugar, use herbs and natural sweeteners to add more flavour to your food
• Certain foods taste better when they are eaten either hot or cold; have your food warmer or cooler for enhanced taste
• Maintain impeccable oral hygiene and give immediate attention to any dental problems.

Emotional problems

It is fairly common for older people to have emotional problems [which can often be mistaken for dementia]. As people gear up to face retirement, some of them believe that their remaining years will be an unending saga of gloom and doom. They may get upset, melancholic, lonely or bored. Also, as their children move to other cities or the grandchildren get busier with their school and college schedules, seniors may get a feeling of being redundant or may experience the empty nest syndrome.

Depression is worse still for people who are grieving over the loss of a loved one or who have been given a serious medical diagnosis.

How you can beat it

• Stay social; emotional problems can be eased by the support of the people around you. If possible, live close to your family
• Visit friends regularly
• Join a book club or dance class. Many communities have a senior-citizens group, which organises weekly events, classes and other activities for seniors
• Get professional help from a doctor or counsellor if you feel the need

Slow reflexes, reduced alertness and dullness of memory

As we age, we find it difficult to articulate our thoughts and might say “toasted peanuts” when we mean “roasted peanuts”. But if you say “purple curtains” when you really mean “roasted peanuts”, then that is a sign to watch out for, as it can indicate memory decline at best or a stroke at worst.

The recall ability in old age is affected because of the decreased blood flow to the brain. Also our bodies become less efficient at absorbing brain-enhancing nutrients, which leads to changes in cognitive skills. You may notice that you’re dropping things more often while working in the kitchen or that driving has become a problem for you.

How you can beat it

• Challenge your brain with crosswords, Sudoku or other puzzles
• Play games like chess, Jenga, scrabble or others that involve strategy
• Learn a new language, an instrument, driving route or recipe
• Read books, newspapers and magazines
• Work on projects that require you to plan and design them. Quilting, knitting clothes, starting a terrace garden are just a few ideas for you.

Urinary incontinence

This is a fairly common but very embarrassing problem for both men and women. Incontinence can range in severity from passing urine when sneezing, coughing or laughing to getting the urge to urinate so badly that you can’t get to a toilet in time. Most underlying causes are simple and easily treatable.

How you can beat it

• You can learn to re-train your bladder: Make a note of the timings when you urinate and when you leak and see if there’s a pattern. Accordingly you ‘train’ your bladder by emptying it before an incident can occur
• Do Kegel exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor
• Your doctor might prescribe a device called a pessary to reposition the urethra
• Injections, medication and surgery are some of the other ways to rectify this.

Loss of balance/dizziness

Our sense of balance is something that we take for granted. Constant falling is often due to a loss of balance, which is brought about by lack of co-ordination between eye-sight and hearing. Light-headedness, dizziness and a mild to violent spinning sensation [vertigo] are some of the symptoms you need to look out for.

Loss of balance can have a variety of causes: inner ear disorders, central nervous system disorders, low blood sugar, side effects of medication, infection, cardiac problems [including low or high blood pressure], or a poorly balanced diet. If you have difficulty walking or standing on soft or uneven surfaces, it could be the result of age-related, weakened inner ear function. Falling should not be dismissed as just another effect of ageing, but should be looked into as it can be cured.

How you can beat it

• Practise balancing exercises like yoga and T’ai Chi
• Regular walks are also beneficial to maintain balance
• Ensure that the floors of your house are free of clutter
• Put in a good lighting system and fit handrails around the house
• Place anti-skid mats in your bathroom and keep it as dry as possible
• While getting up from a lying down position, avoid doing so with a jerk or with haste.

The post Beat these five problems that accompany ageing appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.