Can Someone Help Me With Understanding a Patient With Dementia?!
Question: Can Someone Help Me With Understanding a Patient With Dementia!?
I help care for an 87 yr!. old man!. He is fine the entire day but whenever you try to get him up in the morning or it's time for bed at night he becomes hateful!. I know this is part of dementia, but any suggestions to help him get up & go to bed easier!. He still is at his home & wants to keep going watching t!.v!. until very late!. We do turn off the t!.v!. but he will get hateful & I don't dare get by him because he might hit me!. The a!.m!. is the most challenging time because we cannot get him out of his king size bed!. Would a hospital adjustable bed work best in this situation so he could be put in a sitting position!? Any suggestions to help here would be great!. If his family thinks he is getting mean they will put him in a nurising home & we don't want that for him!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
I know your pain!. Without knowing the specific type your person has, a blanket analysis would be superfluous; however, I've found these links to be informative!.!.!.!.
http://www!.emedicinehealth!.com/dementia_!.!.!.
http://www!.neurologychannel!.com/dementia!.!.!.
http://www!.nlm!.nih!.gov/medlineplus/ency/!.!.!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
http://www!.emedicinehealth!.com/dementia_!.!.!.
http://www!.neurologychannel!.com/dementia!.!.!.
http://www!.nlm!.nih!.gov/medlineplus/ency/!.!.!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
dementia is a challenging didease to those yaking care of him!. be patient!. thats the secret!. if his exercise is getting out of bed, this must be maintained and probably with few minutes walk in the yard!. keeping him in bed might produce bed sores which will be more difficult to manage!. if patient became to aggressive, you may consult his psychiatrist for an as needed basis sedative!. sedative hypnotics at this age is already warranted!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
There are several things that are concerning here!. First of all if you're afraid of him and he is getting abusive a nursing home might be the place he needs to be!. Everyone's safety should be a major concern not just the patient's!.
Second a new onset of anger could be a sign of a new type of dementia (Lewy Body Dementia)!.
Don't get a hospital bed because you can get him to sit up in it!. That will only make him want to stay in it all day!. That will also lead to pressure sores which at his age will probably land him in a nursing home for the rest of his life to receive wound care!.
Don't tell him what to do!. Entice him to want to get out of bed!. Dementia patients cannot handle being ordered around!. This is often what leads to outbursts!. At the same time don't ask him if he wants to get up!. Just make the suggestion "Good morning, Jimmy!. It's a nice day today!. Let's get up and get some breakfast!."
Working with dementia patients involves a great deal of "pass blocking"!. This is a football term for when a quarter back just needs time to throw the ball the offensive line simply pushes the defensive attackers in another direction!. Argumentative conversations usually only lead to angry outbursts!. Keep conversations light, don't argue with him or insist that incorrect statements he is saying are wrong!. If he thinks that the New York Yankees just came into his room and asked him for his autograph why argue with him about it!. You're not going to change his mind on the subject anyway so just let him go with it!. You can change the topic just as easily as you can debate with him the impossibilities of the Yankees being in his bedroom!.
Remember though that if he is become harmful to himself or others he is not safe at home in that situation and should be under the care of people in a dementia unit of a nursing home!. Safety is always the number one priority of healthcare!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Second a new onset of anger could be a sign of a new type of dementia (Lewy Body Dementia)!.
Don't get a hospital bed because you can get him to sit up in it!. That will only make him want to stay in it all day!. That will also lead to pressure sores which at his age will probably land him in a nursing home for the rest of his life to receive wound care!.
Don't tell him what to do!. Entice him to want to get out of bed!. Dementia patients cannot handle being ordered around!. This is often what leads to outbursts!. At the same time don't ask him if he wants to get up!. Just make the suggestion "Good morning, Jimmy!. It's a nice day today!. Let's get up and get some breakfast!."
Working with dementia patients involves a great deal of "pass blocking"!. This is a football term for when a quarter back just needs time to throw the ball the offensive line simply pushes the defensive attackers in another direction!. Argumentative conversations usually only lead to angry outbursts!. Keep conversations light, don't argue with him or insist that incorrect statements he is saying are wrong!. If he thinks that the New York Yankees just came into his room and asked him for his autograph why argue with him about it!. You're not going to change his mind on the subject anyway so just let him go with it!. You can change the topic just as easily as you can debate with him the impossibilities of the Yankees being in his bedroom!.
Remember though that if he is become harmful to himself or others he is not safe at home in that situation and should be under the care of people in a dementia unit of a nursing home!. Safety is always the number one priority of healthcare!.Www@Answer-Health@Com