Friday, December 18, 2015

Wandering: A Common Problem For Those With Dementia

By Rue Nichols


Newspapers seem to feature stories every day about a person with Alzheimer's or dementia wandering away from home or even from a community for assisted living in San Diego. Keeping your loved one safe can be a big challenge, but there are a few methods that have been found to reduce wandering and improve overall safety.

There are typically two big contributing factors to wandering in people with Alzheimer's or any type of dementia. The first is confusion about their surroundings as well as time and place. The second factor is restlessness, which is a common problem among those with dementia. Many people mistakenly believe that their loved one will be less confused living at home than at a community for assisted living in San Diego, but often your loved one will not recognize their home or believe that they actual should be in a home in which they lived previously.

If your loved one resides at home and not at a community for assisted living in Oceanside or San Diego, there are a few steps you can take to increase safety. For instance, make sure that your loved one always has identification on them. In addition to ID in a wallet or purse, you can purchase medical ID bracelets or a necklace or even sew a label inside a favorite jacket and include a name and phone number.

Often, a person with dementia or Alzheimer's will wander away in the early evening or at night. In general, people with dementia can be very restless at night and have difficulty sleeping. To help with this problem, keeping your loved one on a schedule and providing engaging activities as well as physical activities can be helpful. After a busy day, a person will be more likely to have a good night's sleep. In general, keeping a person occupied and busy can reduce the impulse to wander.

If wandering becomes a common problem, it might be time to consider taking more drastic measures. For instance, you can apply child-safety devices on doors and windows to make it difficult to leave the home. Talk to your neighbors and explain the situation and ask them to give you a call if they see your loved one leaving the home. When you get to the point where you constantly are worried about safety, it might be time to consider moving your loved one into a home for assisted living in San Diego.

Typically, a person with dementia will be safer at a facility for assisted living in San Diego or assisted living in La Mesa or Oceanside. This is because there is staff on hand 24 hours a day, and the staff should be trained to handle the needs of memory care residents. It is important when selecting a facility to choose eldercare designed specifically for memory care as this is the safest option, and the apartments and activities are designed to make life as manageable, stress-free and engaging as possible for people with Alzheimer's or any other type of dementia.




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