When a senior loved one with Alzheimer’s is hospitalized, it can be emotionally jarring. The change in environment, not to mention the lights and sounds of a hospital, can cause agitation and outbursts. It’s easy for family caregivers to worry about the care a loved one is receiving and how to minimize the disruption to their routine.

You’ll likely need to play an active role in their care to ensure your loved one’s hospital stay is as comfortable as it can be considering the circumstances.

Look for the following red flags to determine if they need additional support while they are hospitalized.

Increased Agitation and Alzheimer’s

Seniors with Alzheimer’s will often show increased agitation, and even aggression, in a hospital setting. They are taken off their routine. Strange people come and go at all hours. A hospital can be a noisy and overall confusing place for people with Alzheimer’s.

Speak to hospital staff about minimizing disruptions. Can staff serve meals on your loved one’s usual schedule? Ask that the television remain off unless your loved one requests to watch it. Play soft, soothing music instead. Keep the lights lowered whenever possible.

In extreme situations, you might ask for your loved one to be moved to a room that is in a quieter area of the hospital.

Dehydration

Seniors with Alzheimer’s are at increased risk of dehydration in a hospital setting, because they may forget to drink. Staff members who aren’t familiar with the disease might not know that a person with Alzheimer’s needs frequent reminders.

Reinforce the need for cues to “drink more” with hospital caregivers. You might even consider posting a note on your loved one’s bed side table. This can help them stay hydrated when you aren’t around to monitor their liquid intake.

Signs of Pain

Seniors with Alzheimer’s may suffer from untreated pain in a hospital setting, if they can’t convey their discomfort to medical staff. Use your intuition and knowledge of your loved one to look for signs of pain, and request the appropriate measures be taken to alleviate it.

When a Senior with Alzheimer’s is Hospitalized

A few additional tips that may help include:

• Permission to stay overnight: The best way to calm a loved one with Alzheimer’s is to have a familiar family member by their side. Ask if the hospital can accommodate this request.
• The room décor is busy or frightening: Photos of animals or other busy room décor can be threatening to someone with Alzheimer’s. Ask for a room with minimal decorations, no busy patterns, and lighting that minimizes shadows.

The Bridge to Rediscovery

When your loved one is released from the hospital, the next step may be a move to a dedicated memory care program in an assisted living community. They will receive the support they need to manage their Alzheimer’s and maintain their best quality of life.

Five Star Senior Living communities offer personalized memory care programs to ensure residents stay safely engaged with life despite their disease. Contact us to learn more and to schedule a private tour at your convenience.

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Would you be surprised to discover that Alzheimer’s can only be definitely diagnosed after death when an autopsy reveals certain characteristics in the brain tissue?

When doctors think Alzheimer’s is present in an older adult they must first eliminate other possible illnesses. (Here are 5 medical conditions often mistaken for Alzheimer’s.) They will investigate if vascular dementia or memory loss is caused by alcoholism, depression, prescription drug side effects, an infection or thyroid issues. Each of these problems can usually be treated.

An early diagnosis allows an Alzheimer’s sufferer and their family to begin planning for the future.

Benefits of Early Alzheimer’s Diagnosis and Treatment

Early diagnosis and treatment may help preserve the cognitive functions and quality-of-life of someone with Alzheimer’s. While the disease cannot be stopped or reversed, treatment can sometimes help the person continue with normal day-to-day functions longer.

Preparing for a Doctor’s Visit

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis begins with the doctor confirming memory loss and dementia. To do so, the doctor will conduct memory tests and assess the person’s problem-solving, counting, and language skills, as well as the attention span.

The doctor may also speak to loved ones about the person’s overall health, their ability to carry out activities of daily living (ADL), and changes in behavior and personality. Sometimes a person with Alzheimer’s fails to recognize the changes, even though they are obvious to their loved ones.

To prepare for the doctor’s visit, write down when you first noticed signs of memory loss and other behavioral changes, how often it happens, and the reaction of your loved one when it does. Keep a close watch, sometimes seniors will try and hide memory issues out of fear or embarrassment.

Also, bring your loved one’s complete medical history, along with a list of prescription and non-prescription drugs they take and a list of any vitamins, supplements, or herbal remedies they use.

Diagnostic Tests for Alzheimer’s

The doctor may prescribe a battery of tests to either identify or rule out other causes of dementia or memory loss.  This may include:

• Blood and urine analysis
• Computed tomography (CT)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Positron emission tomography (PET)

How Accurate Are Diagnostic Tests for Alzheimer’s Disease?

Don’t hesitate to get a second opinion on an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, especially if the doctor who made the diagnosis is not a specialist in memory care and dementia.

Often, the primary care doctor will provide a referral to another professional, such as a neurologist, a neuropsychologist, or a geriatric psychiatrist. But if he doesn’t provide a referral, ask for one. Experts skilled in recognizing the signs of Alzheimer’s are correct in their diagnosis about 90 percent of the time, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Additionally, new research and developments make Alzheimer’s testing even more comprehensive and accurate, which may someday lead to better treatment.

In the future, routine diagnostic tests for older adults may be able to detect Alzheimer’s even before any symptoms appear. For now, it’s important to get help when you first begin noticing any changes in the memory, mood or behavior of your aging loved one.

Caring for Those with Alzheimer’s

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia, Five Star Senior Living provides memory care services focus on maintaining quality of life. Find a senior living memory care community nearest you to learn more today!

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For caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer’s, dealing with the effects of the disease can often feel like caring for a toddler.

But it’s important not to treat an aging loved one with Alzheimer’s like a child. That is, don’t talk down to them, sound patronizing, use “baby” words like “diaper” or “bib,” or have conversations about them in their presence while ignoring them.

Treat your aging loved one with Alzheimer’s as a capable adult. Here are a few ways you can do that:

Dignity & Dementia

Think about Your Loved One’s ‘Life Story’

Every person has a history of likes and dislikes. We all have a past and a personality that makes us who we are. Keep this in mind when caring for a senior with Alzheimer’s.This includes respecting their sense of spirituality, the foods they prefer to eat, and the things they like to do.

Remember That Your Loved One is More Than a Diagnosis

Caregivers often focus so much on numbers and statistics, such as their aging loved one’s weight, how much food they’ve eaten, blood pressure or blood sugar levels.

Don’t just pay attention to vital statistics

Ask your loved one how he or she feels daily. What would make your loved one comfortable? Happy? Consider alternative ways of increasing their sense of self such as with music, art or pet therapy.

Build Confidence and Self-worth by Getting Back to Basics

In some ways, it is appropriate to treat your aging loved one as a child you love. That is, show respect and patience. Speak kindly and compliment them genuinely and generously to increase their self-esteem. Give them tasks they can accomplish to help maintain their self-worth. But don’t expect more from your aging loved one than they are capable of.

Answer questions patiently—no matter how many times you must repeat your answer.

Learn their daily patterns and routines and use them as a way to create a stable environment. This can help reduce confusion, sundowning, and aggression in seniors with Alzheimer’s.

Let Your Loved One Do as Much They Can

Your loved one’s patterns, understanding, and capabilities may change daily. Allow them to do as much as they can at any time. This may include bathing, feeding themselves, or light chores. Step in to help only when you see it’s needed. Good caregiving changes daily based on your loved one’s needs. And research shows that allowing a person with Alzheimer’s to do as much as they can for themselves may delay the progression of the disease.

Listen to Your Loved One

How do you know what your loved one needs at any given moment?

Listen.“I’ve found the best caregivers are the ones who give themselves permission to enter into the world of the person they’re caring for. What that means is looking for signs –the life someone once led, their passions, daily routines, and memories, all still matter,” writes columnist Molly Carpenter at EverydayHealth.com.

Watching and listening with true empathy can help you, as caregiver, provide what your loved one needs at any given time. Doing so helps preserve your loved one’s dignity.

Dignity and Sense of Self Contribute to a Better Quality of Life

Evidence shows that people with Alzheimer’s who maintain their dignity and receive respect from caregivers have less risk of depression and anxiety, leading to a better quality of life.

Five Star Senior Living offers a personalized approach to memory care. Contact us to learn more.

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Your parent may have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy the holidays with their grandchildren.

You can continue many family traditions—even if you have to modify them slightly. Or build new traditions based on your parent’s ability level and interests. Here are a few fun activities kids can do with a grandparent who has Alzheimer’s.

6 Activities for Kids to Enjoy with a Grandparent Who has Alzheimer’s

1. Bake together

With the right supervision, grandparents and grandchildren can still bake cookies, cakes, and pies together. Use ergonomic, brightly colored measuring cups and spoons with the measurements printed in big, bold numbers.

Younger children and their grandparents may need more assistance. You can pre-measure the ingredients and lay them out for your parent and your child to mix and stir together. Older children may be able to help their grandparent with measurements.

Try to use time-tested family recipes that will taste and smell familiar to your loved one.

2. Scrapbook

Have you already collected a lot of holiday photos from the season’s events? Print some of your favorite photos and let young and old alike enjoy a creative scrapbooking session together.

All you need is a blank journal, acid-free scrapbooking paper, scissors, stickers, glue sticks and stamps.

3. Create handmade holiday cards

If the idea of building an entire scrapbook seems like too much for the attention spans of your loved ones, provide supplies so that they can create holiday cards together instead.

Whether they have the energy to create one or 20, they will feel a sense of accomplishment by making art for others to enjoy.

4. Paint

Painting parties are a hot trend this holiday season. Why not host a small painting party of your own, sans the pricey art instructor? Find simple artwork or instructional videos online.

It might be even more fun to provide the canvas, paints, and brushes and then let your loved ones use their imaginations to create their own winter wonderland.

If painting with acrylics is too challenging, consider watercolors or even finger paints—fun for all ages.

5. Sing Christmas carols or Hanukkah songs

Music may alleviate agitation in seniors with Alzheimer’s, calm stress, and even enhance cognitive function. Most older adults with Alzheimer’s will remember the words to songs from their childhood, including well-loved Christmas carols and other seasonal songs.

Sing along to the classics together. If someone can provide musical accompaniment with a piano or guitar, that’s even better.

6. Share stories

Seniors with Alzheimer’s may have difficulty remembering how to complete day-to-day tasks, but their past may be crystal clear.

Help your child come up with a handful of questions about the holidays when their grandparent was growing up. Spend the afternoon sharing stories. If your senior loved one’s verbal skills are limited, you can help them fill in the gaps.

Celebrate the Holidays at Five Star Senior Living

Grandchildren are welcome visitors at Five Star Senior Living any time of year. Your aging loved one could enjoy the holidays in the comfort of one of our memory care communities. Contact us today to learn more about senior living, communities near you, and our available services for those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

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Family members often say one of the greatest emotional struggles Alzheimer’s disease presents is finding ways to protect their loved one’s dignity. As the disease advances, the senior loses the ability to care for themselves. They may not recognize that their hair is a mess or they need a shower.

Struggling to find the right words can cause a senior with dementia to withdraw. This may cause friends and family to treat them differently or give up trying to communicate at all.

For family members, watching the decline of a beloved elder can be painful. Families can take certain steps, however, to make sure visitors and health professionals interact with the senior in ways that protect their self-esteem.

Protecting Dignity and Promoting Self-Esteem

1. Don’t allow the senior to be treated like a child.

When verbal skills and short-term memory are impaired, a senior may be unable to retain new information and carry on a conversation. People they encounter might unconsciously use language or a tone that is patronizing. It’s important to gently intervene and not allow the elder to be treated like a child.

Also, replace words like “diaper” or “bib,” with kinder words such as “brief” or “clothes protector.” Don’t talk about or allow others to talk about the older adult in front of them. Even if the senior can’t respond verbally, it’s important to include them in conversations.

2. Remind people of your aging loved one’s story.

The senior is more than their diagnosis. It might take reminding people of their story to keep that in perspective. When friends and family visit, share the senior’s highs and lows in life, and how they overcame adversity.

Talk about what the older adult’s hobbies were in younger days, and what they like to do today. Shining the spotlight on their remaining abilities instead of their losses may help people see beyond the disease.

3. Encourage and support independence.

There is a saying among dementia-care providers that the more you do for an adult with dementia, the more you take away from them. Allowing a person with dementia to maintain as much of their independence as possible is important.

Because your family member’s capabilities may fluctuate from day-to-day, you will need to be flexible. Allow them to attempt to do as much as they are able to at any time. Be patient, and step in to help only when it’s needed.

4. Be a patient, kind listener.

When it comes to dementia, entering the world of the person with the disease is important. That includes watching and listening with true empathy. It can be tough to do sometimes, especially when you are busy and words don’t come easily for the senior.

The same is true when visitors or outsiders are involved. For example, if the senior has a doctor’s appointment, encourage the staff to include the senior in conversations. Step in if your loved one is struggling and you sense their self-esteem is suffering.

Memory Care at Five Star Senior Living

Memory care communities help adults with dementia live their best life despite the disease. If you are beginning the search for memory care, we have some tips. Five Star Senior Living is one of the nation’s leading providers of memory care. Contact us to learn more or to schedule a private tour at a community near you!

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If you’re the caregiver of an aging parent with Alzheimer’s, you face communications challenges every day.

And if you’re a member of the sandwich generation, also caring for young children, one of these struggles may be talking to your kids about their grandparent’s Alzheimer’s disease.

Here’s some good news: You don’t have to keep quiet any longer. Honesty is the best policy. Just be sure to share age-appropriate information in bite-sized chunks.

Talking to Toddlers and Pre-schoolers about Alzheimer’s

Toddlers and preschoolers may not notice any difference in a grandparent with Alzheimer’s. If they ask why their grandma or grandpa forgets their name, it may be enough to say, “Grandma is sick and it’s making her forgetful. She won’t get better, but she will always love you.”

Talking to Older Children

School-age children have more capacity to understand that Alzheimer’s is a brain disease, changing the way their grandparent thinks and feels, and making them do unusual things.

Children may be frightened or uncomfortable witnessing their grandparent’s odd behavior. They may feel guilty as a result of these feelings. You can explain that you, too, feel scared, frustrated, and uncomfortable at times. It’s completely normal and nothing to feel guilty about.

Provide specific examples of how Alzheimer’s affects their grandparent, as well as the things they can still do. “Grandma may not remember what grade you’re in, but she still loves baking cookies with you, if you show her which ingredients come first.”

Older children may wonder if they can “catch” the disease. Explain to them that “No, it’s not contagious.”

Talking to Teens and Tweens

Teens and tweens may have many questions about AD or may not want to talk about it at all. If they want more details, you can discuss how the disease may progress and what they can expect.

Teens and tweens may also be concerned about their responsibilities and how their grandparent’s disease is going to affect the family structure.

If a teen wants to help out, let them spend time with their grandparent. But ensure their caregiving doesn’t get in the way of their own development, schoolwork, or duties as a teen.

Watch for Odd Behavior in Your Child

Younger and older children, alike, may experience a variety of feelings:

• Grief over the loss of the grandparent they once knew
• Confusion and fear about a grandparent’s changing behavior
• Resentment if the aging grandparent is taking up a lot of your time

Keep an eye on your child to see how he or she is coping. Their distress could manifest in stomachaches, poor grades, or attention-getting behavior and “acting out” in negative ways.

Have candid conversations with your child and don’t forget to inject humor, where appropriate. Laughing together about old memories can help the whole family feel better in a stressful time.

Use the Resources Available

With 5.4 million Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it’s no surprise plenty of resources exist to help children cope with the disease in loved ones.

Maria Shriver’s video, Do You Know Who I Am, explores the lives of five children whose grandparents have Alzheimer’s.

The Alzheimer’s Society also offers a number of resources to explain Alzheimer’s to young children, tweens, and teens.

Don’t Hesitate

Even very young children deserve an explanation of their beloved grandparent’s strange behavior. Your children may be relieved to find out that their grandparent isn’t mad at them or ignoring them, and is acting so strangely because of an illness.

Struggling to find the right words?

The memory care experts at Five Star Senior Living may be able to offer advice and guidance. Contact us to learn more or to inquire about our award-winning Bridge to Rediscovery memory care program.

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If you are the family caregiver for a senior with Alzheimer’s disease, a phrase you’ve likely heard them say is “I want to go home.” In most cases the older adult is already home, but home is an environment that no longer looks familiar to them. While it might be that memory loss is causing them not to remember their surroundings, the phrase might also mean something else.

Communicating with a Loved One Who Has Dementia

Adults with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia often lose some or all of their verbal communications skills fairly early in the disease process. This makes it hard for their loved ones to understand what is wrong or what the senior is trying to say.

Sometimes a person with dementia is searching for home because of unmet needs or because they are feeling isolated and alone. Here’s what they might really mean:

• Undiagnosed pain: Is the senior in pain? Sometimes you can tell by the look on their face that something isn’t right. If they aren’t able to tell you what is wrong, try pointing to different parts of the body and asking them to answer yes or no if it hurts.
• Sad or lonely: The very nature of Alzheimer’s disease is isolating. As memory and abilities slowly decline, the older adult’s world becomes smaller. They might remember faces of loved ones but be unable to recall names. Eventually, they live in a world where no one and nothing looks familiar.
• Confusion: As short-term memories fade, an adult with memory loss might be confused about where home really is. They may try to find their way back to a house that was home many years ago.
• Unmet needs: Sometimes the senior wants to “go home” because they are hungry, thirsty, tired, or need to use the bathroom. When the environment they are in doesn’t look familiar, they feel an urgent need to search for home. It can help to offer them something to eat or drink or show them to the bathroom.
• Boredom: Creating meaningful days can be difficult when a loved one you are a caregiver for has memory loss. Their need to find home might be the result of boredom and not enough activity.

Redirecting a Senior with Alzheimer’s Attention

When a senior with Alzheimer’s is frustrated and agitated at not being allowed to search for home, redirecting their attention is often the best solution:

• Ask for their assistance. Bring a basket of towels in to the living room and ask for the senior’s help folding them. Or try offering them a dust cloth and asking the senior to clean the dining room or help make dinner. Giving the senior a job may help redirect their thoughts.
• Turn on favorite music. Research shows that music has the power to change mood. Uplifting songs can boost mood, while the sounds of nature can soothe agitation. Music an older adult associates with the happiest times in their life might also help calm the senior and make them forgot about searching for home.
• Agree to go later: If you aren’t able to redirect your senior loved one’s attention, agree with them that you will go to their house later. Tell them you have to make a cake and clean up the kitchen first. Agreeing with them might help soothe the agitation they feel, while also buying you time. It’s entirely likely a senior with memory loss will forget they were searching for home before long.

Memory Care at Five Star Senior Living

At Five Star Senior Living, we call our memory care program the Bridge to Rediscovery. We use Montessori-Based Dementia Programming (MBDP) to help each resident live their most independent life in an environment designed to support success.

The best way to learn more about MBDP and our award-winning memory care is by scheduling a personal visit. Contact the Five Star community nearest you today!

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