When a Senior with Alzheimer’s Disease Needs Personal Care at Home
Personal Care at Home in Manalapan NJ
Your mom has Alzheimer’s disease, and you’re not sure when to arrange personal care at home. You know she’ll need this level of service, but when is it the right time? Here are the signs to look for.
Clothing Choices Make No Sense
It’s the middle of the summer and one of the hottest days of the year. You find your mom wearing a fleece pullover and heavy sweatpants. She’s clearly overheating, so you have to help her take a cool shower and dress in appropriate clothes.
You may find her in leggings, a t-shirt, and flip-flops in the middle of the winter. She plans to go outside. Her sense of appropriate attire for the weather conditions is slipping away. It’s time for help with dressing.
Serious Mistakes Are Being Made
As Alzheimer’s progresses, you may find your mom making serious mistakes that you never realized would happen. You arrive to cook her breakfast, and her skin is blistered and raw. You find out she’s been using dish soap as a body lotion.
Your mom used toothpaste for eye cream and a glass cleaning wipe instead of a makeup remover. All of these issues are common, but they’re also concerning. If she can’t remember which product to use, it’s time to put them away.
Have a personal care at home aide available to guide your mom. The caregiver can get the skin cream out after your mom’s shower and hand her the correct item. Your mom’s safer and you’re less stressed.
Your Mom’s Not Showering Correctly
Your mom gets in the shower, wets her hair, and gets out. Ten minutes later, she’s saying she hasn’t showered yet. If you try to help her, she gets upset, but she’s forgetting the correct steps to showering. She has to have help with showers now.
Oral Hygiene Tasks Are Getting Ignored
After her meals, your mom goes to brush her teeth, but she’ll brush one section and forget where she was. She doesn’t remember to use floss at all.
At her last dental check-up, her hygienist said she has lots of tartar in some areas and not in others. You work together to figure out the best way to help out, but it’s still apparent that your mom needs someone to help her brush and floss her teeth.
Your Mom Has a Hard Time Using a Spoon or Fork
Finally, your mom can eat finger foods, but she no longer is able to manipulate a spoon or fork. She cannot use a knife to cut items. She needs help with her meals if she’s going to have more than chicken tenders, fries, fish sticks, fruit slices, and finger sandwiches.
Once you know it’s time for personal care at home, make the arrangements. It can take a little time to get things set up and get your mom adjusted to her new caregivers. The sooner you start, the better it is for your stress and your mom’s safety. Call a home care agency to get started.
If you or an aging loved one is considering personal care at home in Manalapan, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Care Street Home Care today. Call (732) 607-8870.
The Care Street mission is straightforward and compelling: to provide a comprehensive range of the highest quality home health services in a professional and efficient manner that will enhance our clients' quality of life and empower families to keep their loved one at home.
Care Street has earned a reputation of excellence among hundreds of families, and is recommended by medical professionals and hospital discharge planners throughout the State.
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