Home Care in Jupiter FL

If you are on a home care journey with a senior suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, one of the greatest challenges that you are likely to face is wandering. The Alzheimer’s Association reports that at least 3 out of every 5 seniors with Alzheimer’s disease will wander at some point in their experience with the disease. This is more than 60 percent of these seniors. Though many will be located relatively close by, some will get quite a distance away before anyone notices that they are gone. The sobering reality is that among those seniors who are not found within 24 hours, more than half will either suffer from a severe injury or will lose their lives. The risk for these serious consequences increases the longer that a senior is missing.

Wandering tendencies can occur for a wide variety of reasons, and you may never be able to identify the actual reason that your loved one wanders. They will likely not be able to explain to you why they wandered or what they thought they were doing. If you have noticed that your loved one has started showing these behaviors, it is important that you take steps to protect them from the potential dangers that these tendencies could bring. One particularly effective way that you can do this is by hiring a home care provider.

Some of the way that a home care provider can help a senior with wandering tendencies stay safe include:

• Going along with them. Just because your parent is wandering does not mean that they have to stop. If it is during the day and in a safe location, the care provider can go along with your parent. This can result in a beneficial walk together. Being able to walk together for a short while can ease the anxiety or compulsion that your parent is feeling, helping them to feel more relaxed.

• Distract them. Often wandering tendencies stem from anxiety or boredom. Your parent’s home care provider can come up with fun and engaging activities designed to distract them from these feelings. This can help to alleviate the anxiety or get their mind more active, which can reduce the compulsion to wander.

• Fulfill unmet needs. Another common reason behind negative Alzheimer’s behaviors including wandering tendencies is unmet needs. Seniors with Alzheimer’s disease may no longer recognize what these needs are or what they mean, but they can still feel the effects of them. For example, your parent might not understand hunger pangs or thirst signals, or may not understand what they are in pain or feeling uncomfortable. This does not mean that they are not feeling those things. These can compel your parent to wander in search of relief from those needs. A care provider can evaluate basic needs such as hunger, thirst, feeling tired, or needing to use the restroom when wandering signals begin so that they can fulfill those needs and relieve the compulsion to wander.

Source
http://www.alz.org/norcal/in_my_community_18411.asp

If You Or An Aging Loved One Are Considering Hiring Professional Home Care in Jupiter, FL, Please Contact The Caring Staff at Assisting Hands Home Care at 561­-829­-3080 Today.