In-Home Care in Santa Clarita, California: Creating a Safe Home for All Stages of Alzheimer’s
Once simple, everyday items can become serious hazards to someone suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Combine this with the fact that aging patients are often extremely resistant to change and you have the possibility for serious injuries to the patient and even others. This is why it’s important to understand the stages of the disease and take additional precautions accordingly.
What are the stages of Alzheimer’s?
Stage 1: No memory impairment is present.
Stage 2: The patient may experience normal, age-related decline in cognitive ability but others won’t notice.
Stage 3: Mild cognitive decline that will start to be noticed by others including trouble with remember names, planning events and misplacing objects.
Stage 4: Moderate cognitive decline is marked by increasing memory issues and a tendency to become withdrawn from social situations.
Stage 5: Gaps in memory become much more noticeable, but patients are still able to eat and use the bathroom themselves
Stage 6: Severe impairment is shown through personality changes and an inability to take care of basic grooming tasks along with frequent confusion about time and place.
Stage 7: This last and most severe stage is often marked by a complete or nearly complete loss of speech and ability to move or even smile.
Tips for Home Safety
Look at Your Home through Their Eyes: Anything you could normally injure yourself with such as knives, a curling iron, or other tools need to be kept in a locked or safe area. Depending on the stage of Alzheimer’s, a person may not remember what the object is used for or how to use it. Also, dark objects can be seen as frightening to a patient, even wearing dark clothing can make you appear more threatening so keep this in mind.
Be Prepared for Emergencies: Keep an up to date list of emergency contacts at the ready and make sure things like fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms are all in working order.
Remove or Secure Rugs: Tripping hazards like rugs are a real problem for any elderly person, but especially so for an alzheimer’s patient.
Secure the Home but Promote Independence Where Possible: Make sure car keys are hidden and locks on doors and windows are placed low or high to discourage a patient from wandering
Comfort Keepers
23900 Lyons Avenue
Santa Clarita, CA 91321
661-287-4200
