Alzheimer’s disease is often thought of as a cognitive condition, but its symptoms can also place seniors at risk for physical harm. Families should be aware of the following dangers and implement preventative strategies to keep their senior loved ones safe.
Medication Misuse
As Alzheimer’s progresses, your loved one may find it harder to keep up with medications, but missing a dose or doubling up can cause serious harm to his or her health. You may need to hire a caregiver in Mississauga to remind your loved one to take his or her daily medications.
Malnutrition
The same memory loss that makes it hard for seniors to remember to take their medication can also cause them to skip meals. Over time, forgetting to eat can lead to nutritional deficiencies that place your loved one’s health in jeopardy. You may notice your loved one losing a lot of weight and experiencing other symptoms like fatigue and mood swings. Making arrangements for assistance with meal preparation and someone to share meals with your loved one can prevent malnutrition.
Wandering
If your loved one wanders away from home, he or she may face many physical dangers. For instance, wandering can expose your loved one to extreme weather and make him or her vulnerable to abuse from criminals. During the early stages of Alzheimer’s, you can prevent your loved one from wandering by keeping him or her busy throughout the day. As the symptoms intensify, closer supervision from a trusted Mississauga Alzheimer’s caregiver can help your loved one stay safe at home.
House Fires
Leaving a stove on after preparing meals is one of the biggest causes of house fires among seniors with Alzheimer’s because the symptoms of the disease make it easier for them to get distracted and wander away while they are cooking. Curling irons and other appliances that use heat can also be dangerous. Make sure your loved one’s appliances have automatic shutoffs set to a timer. Providing assistance with cooking is another way to protect your loved one from causing serious fire-related accidents and injuries.
Helping your loved one maintain his or her cognitive health can reduce the risk of these and other physical dangers. One way to do this is by providing activities designed to boost the brain. At Home Care Assistance, we offer a revolutionary program called the Cognitive Therapeutics Method (CTM), which uses activities to help slow cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia. For more information on CTM and the home care Mississauga families trust, call one of our knowledgeable Care Managers at 905-337-1200 and schedule a complimentary consultation.