So, did you just blow the candle for your 65th birthday? If yes, you’ve exited what you call the ‘middle age’ and now you’re open to all sorts of health challenges irrespective of whether or not you’ve been good at taking care of your health. Your body will go through an inevitable change once you cross 65 years of age and you can’t avoid the consequences no matter what. With Alzheimer’s and dementia being the most common disease to affect the seniors, what are your chances of developing this cognitive impairment in the years ahead?
New researches on cognitive life expectancy which deals with how longer senior adults live with either good or poorly declining condition of mental health show that women spend more than 12 years in proper mental health as compared to men and this time span is seen to increase with time.
Cognitive challenges – When do they start occuring?
Researchers have found out that mostly cognitive challenges start occuring at a compressed frame of time in their later life with mild issues like poor memory, declining decision making abilities and thinking skills lasting for 4 years. Then there is the onset of dementia in the next 1-2 years. Despite the surfacing of these mental health conditions, most seniors try to retain their sense of well-being to their normal level.
An eminent professor said that major parts of the cognitively impaired years are usually happy and not unhappy ones. Research also reveals that majority of the seniors don’t suffer from dementia or declining cognitive health. Several disability care services and other home care providers find out that around 20-25% have slight cognitive impairment while just 8-10% suffers from dementia. The risks of suffering from dementia rise as they grow older and cross 80 years of age.
Prevalence of dementia is gradually decreasing in countries like the US
One more research throws light on the fact that the there is a decline in the prevalence of dementia and this trend has been observed among several countries all over the world. As per the National Bureau of Economic Research, just 10.5% of the adults in US above the age of 65 years suffered from dementia in 2014 as against 12% in 2000.
With more years of education, people are being blessed with better mental and physical health and this seems to contribute to the reduction of the number of people suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia. However, the gains are not distributed equally. It is noted that college graduates predict to spend a major part of their life after 65 years with accurate cognitive abilities. On the contrary, for people who couldn’t complete their high school, this figure drops down to less than 45%.
This above mentioned research takes into account the entire senior population as a whole and it won’t be able to tell you what may happen to a single individual. Once you get a clear idea of the bigger picture, you can predict the well-being of a single person as well.
Cognitive impairment is not a deterrent to a healthy lifestyle
Yes, it is true that well-being usually coexists with cognitive impairment. How many senior adults with cognitive impairment feel that they possess a happy life and even if they do, for how long? Happiness is one of the most vital dictators of good quality life. According to a survey done on thousands of adults, they were asked whether or not they were happy during the past week. Based on their answers, it was seen that mental health decline can’t ever be an obstacle to happiness. Seniors suffering from mild cognitive decline reported feeling happy 90% of the time.
So, the bottomline of this research was that decline in cognitive health can never be equivalent to unhappiness. Nevertheless, the research also cautioned that happiness was correlated to the level of cognitive impairment a person is suffering from. People suffering from moderate to severe Alzheimer’s or dementia can go through crucial stages during their later stages. Hence these situations can’t be taken into account in the study.
Staying safe and secured with dementia – Risks to be aware of
WANDERING
Did you know that 7 among 10 people suffering from dementia will wander from one place to another not remembering his whereabouts? A person who is suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s won’t remember his name or address and will often feel disoriented in places that they’re already acquainted with. Wandering is dangerous but there are strategies to take care of it.
Which types of people are more vulnerable to wandering?
Any person who has started having memory issues and who is able to walk is at the risk of wandering. This can even happen in the early stages of dementia and hence it is vital to plan ahead for your loved one. Watch out for the following signs:
- Late return from a regular drive or walk
- Talks about joining back to office even after being retired
- Forgets about known places
- Wishes to go home while he is already at home
- Makes repetitive movements
- Enquired about past family members and friends who are no more
- Feels anxious or nervous in crowded areas
Tricks to prevent a dementia patient from wandering
- Follow a routine: Once you set a routine, this can offer structure to your daily activities. Know how to create a plan.
- Identify the times when wandering occurs: Being a caregiver, you might be familiar with the times of wandering. Plan out activities during that time to keep him engaged.
- Support the person when he feels lost: Don’t correct the person if he is thinking in a wrong way. Rather reassure the person by telling him something different.
- Locks should be kept out of sight: Locks should be installed high or low at the exterior doors and place slide bolts either at the bottom or at the top of the door.
- Supervise on him: Leaving a dementia patient unsupervised is a big blunder. Don’t ever lock a person inside a room or leave him alone in a car.
SAFETY INSIDE HOME
People suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s can also stay in their homes, provided there are safety measures in place. With the progress of this disease, the abilities of a person keeps changing and hence family members need to adjust to the environment of the house. In what way dementia has an impact on your safety? How should dementia carers adjust themselves?
Judgment: People tend to forget how they should use household appliances
Behavior: Becoming suspicious of people, confused and fearful
Sense of place & time: Not being able to understand what time of the day it is
Senses: Finding sudden changes in hearing, vision, sensitivity to depth or temperature
Physical ability: Experiencing difficulty with balance
Home Safety tips to keep in mind
- Determine the environment: Pay special focus on work rooms, garages, outside areas and basements where there are cleaning supplies, tools and items which might need supervision.
- Stay armed for emergencies: Be prepared with a list of those emergency numbers like fire departments, local police and hospitals so that you don’t waste time during emergencies.
- Walkways should be well-lit: Add lights to doorways, entries, areas in between rooms, staircases and of course inside and outside washrooms. This can reduce any kind of disoriented feeling and also keep accidents at bay.
- Keep aside weapons or guns: In case you possess a weapon, this can lead to unanticipated danger. The person with dementia can mistakenly think that the caregiver is an intruder.
- Place medicines in a cabinet: To make sure medicines are safely taken on time, you can use an organizer and tick off once the medicines are taken.
- Do away with tripping issues: Keep the surfaces and floors clutter-free so that there are no chances of tripping hazards.
- Take care of the temperature of food and water: A person suffering from dementia will often find it difficult to differentiate between cold and hot. Hence, it is better if you could install a thermometer for water temperature.
- Avoid injury inside bathroom: How about installing walk-in showers? You can add grab bars to the tub or shower at the edge of the vanity and this allows safe movement and independent walking. In case there are slippery surfaces, make sure you add textured stickers to make the person aware.
- Assess safety limits in the basement: If there are power tools like weed trimmers and lawn mowers, secure them. Keep poisonous chemicals like spray paint, gasoline and thinners out of reach from the patient. Install a safety sensor on the garage door.
- Support the needs of the person: Don’t create a home which feels claustrophobic. The home has to boost social interaction and proper independence. Make sure you have clear spacious areas for activities.
List of the common Tracking technologies for dementia patients
Are you into the market to shop for a location management system? If answered yes, you will most probably find yourself in a soup. Here are few things you should know before you shop for the best tracking technologies for your dementia patient.
Things to know about tracking technologies
- There’s no system that can be 100% accurate and there are also devices that don’t work properly inside buildings.
- No matter how many location management services you employ in your home, that won’t be equal to the services offered by a 24-hour companion.
- There are few systems that can just locate a person till a distance as weather can be a great factor.
GPS or Global Positioning System
These days, most location management systems rely on this technology called GPS and this depends on satellites to offer navigation and positioning information. If GPS has to work, there should be a clean line of distance between satellites and the device. The benefit is that GPS is never dependent on the network’s availability and can offer worldwide, precise outdoor positioning details any time during the day.
A-GPS Network Assisted GPS
A-GPS technology usually works in tandem with GPS by utilizing cell towers. This technology offers indoor positioning details with better accuracy and it is normally faster than the normal unassisted GPS. However, before you choose a device, you have to find out whether the network that the device relies on is reliable wherever the dementia patient lives.
Online tools
There are few location management services that even have online apps so that the caregivers can install them on their smartphone and use them in locating the demand through a mapping tool whenever they can access the internet. There are few apps that even give you the option of choosing zones that can warn the caregiver whenever the patient leaves the zone. The advantages of this tool are that the caregiver can check the position of the person any time. Based on the zones, they can also send warnings when the person leaves a place. However, the limitations are that the app and the device should communicate at definite intervals in order to work properly.
RFID or Radio frequency identification
RFID works via transmission of radio waves between an antenna, transponder and a receiver. While there are some RFID chips that don’t need batteries to work, they offer you better reliability. The main limitation so RFID on the other hand are that they require several pieces of equipment and a restrained range of signal. So, before you take the plunge, make sure you locality supports RFID location system.
So, as we see that dementia is a common disease that keeps affecting the seniors in majority of the countries over the globe, action needs to be taken. Try your best to ensure a safe environment at home for your loved one so that you can gain 100% security. If needed, take resort to the latest technological gadgets as they can give you an advanced assistance whenever needed.
