Senior Care for Alzheimer's
As a person ages, a certain amount of memory loss and confusion is quite normal. Personally, I've been known to invoke the cliché, "The older I get, the better I was!" Unfortunately, Alzheimer's disease represents a more serious loss of mental sharpness and calls for special care for seniors.
Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease is a progressive form of pre-senile dementia. Symptoms are typically first noted in a person's late forties or early fifties. As the disease takes effect, it will first impact memory. Impaired thought and speech will follow with the patient eventually becoming helpless.
Alzheimer's is a truly horrible disease because it robs a person of their ability to function. The disease is also damaging to family and friends as it is very difficult to watch a parent, brother, sister or friend progress to the point where they don't recognize anyone. The burden of caring for a person suffering from Alzheimer's is significant. At some point in time, a family will have to look for assistance with the care.
Most "board and care" and "assisted living facilities" are willing and capable of providing for a person suffering from Alzheimer's. These facilities are similar to nursing homes, but with less of an institutional atmosphere. If, however, a senior becomes increasingly disoriented, perhaps even occasionally wandering away, they may require a facility with a dementia waiver.
Despite the name, a "dementia waiver" is an indication that a facility and staff have additional training and licensing for the care of patients with dementia. On top of the additional training, the actual facility may be secured with a perimeter to keep patients on the grounds.
Alzheimer's disease leaves a mark on family and friends as well as the victim. There are, however, facility options that can at least take the care burden off of you.
Alex Jensen is with http://www.careplacement.com - a free placement service for seniors in need of assisted living, board and care or skilled nursing facilities in San Diego and Southern California.
MORE RESOURCES:
 |
 |
 |
RELATED ARTICLES
What You Need to Know About Helping Senior Citizens
IntroductionThe baby boomers is the population which haven taken birth after second world war till 1965 when there was a tremendous increase in birth rate due to the social and economic development in the USA. Now this population is going into the old age and thus bringing a burden to the nation as the country has to take care of not only the food and shelter but also the medical care.
Caregiving Across The Miles-Tips for Successful Long Distance Caregiving
Caring for a parent or a loved one is a difficult job. Your duties as a caregiver become increasingly difficult as the miles increase between you and your loved one.
Helping Caregivers Get Comfortable Asking For Help
Becoming a care giver might not have been a conscious decision on your part. It may have arrived quietly and unnoticed because you are the adult child of your elderly parents who now require care or you may have a special needs child that exacts your constant attention or a friend or spouse has become very ill and needs your support.
Why Everyone Over 50 Should be Training for the Senior Games
by Phil Campbell, M.S.
When Assistance with Long Term Care Becomes Necessary
According to the Administration on Aging, it is estimated by 2030, the older population will more than double to approximately 71.5 million.
The Right Wheelchair Accessories Will Ease Your Life and Your Journeys on Wheels
Wheelchairs come in every shape and size with sufficient options that you can find the wheels you like to take you where you want to go with the assistance you need. To enhance the comfort and convenience of your journey, choose accessories tailored to provide the best support for your activities and your health concerns.
Caring for Aging Relatives
It happens somewhat slowly in the beginning, maybe with a small cough that gets worse as time goes on. It might simply begin with absent mindedness which is totally out of character, followed by total memory lapses.
10 Tips to Keep a Family Caregiver from Losing Their Mind
Caring full time for a loved one can be a challenging task, and it takes a special person to get the job done right. Patience and compassion are the two top qualities a caregiver must possess in order to be successful.
Introducing the Best Available Long Term Care Policy Guarantee
If you're 60 to 70 years old ..
Alzheimers Care Giving While Maintaining Your Own Health
Just for a moment I want you to imagine that you are coming out of a very deep sleep. If you have ever had surgery try to remember the way you felt as you were trying to make sense of things as you awoke.
Paying For Elder Care Just Got Easier
It's not a surprise that thousands of families across the nation are facing the challlenges of an aging population. The "sandwich" generation, those who are caring for their children as well as their parents, have been feeling the financial pinch of caring for loved ones.
Retiring Abroad and Leaving the Grey Skies of the UK
Retiring abroad needs careful planning. Not all countries have the same entitlement to benefits as the UK and your tax liability may be affected.
Strategies on Paying for Nursing Home Care and Medicaid
The decision to place your loved one into a nursing home is an
extremely difficult decision, often causing much guilt for the
caregiver. It is a very emotional decision for most clients we see and
most are under a certain amount of stress, often great, when facing what
they consider to be a drastic course of action.
Assisted Living Facilities - What Are They?
Assisted Living facilities are generally for person's 60 years of age and older. Typical candidates need assistance with "Activities of Daily Living" (ADLs), but wish to live as independently as possible.
Second Hand Stair Lifts
Buying second hand stair lifts is a viable and cost effective alternative to purchasing a brand new stair lift. Most stair lifts can be purchased new or second hand.
Long Term-Care; 70 Million Americans Will Be Over 65 by 2003
We will all grow old; this is a given. We will all have health issues as we grow older, this also is a given.
The Best Investment You Can Make Right Now: Long Term Care Insurance
Don't think you need it? Consider this: a full 50% of Americans over the age of 50 will need long term care at some point in their lives. The average cost of nursing facility care (or home health care assistance) is $61,000 per year, and the average stay in a long term care facility is 2½ years.
The Dryer Ate Your Underwear!
Q: My mom is in the early stages of dementia and she is also incontinent we have tried to get her to stop wearing her underpants and have her start wearing pull-up diapers, she throws the Depends out the door and puts her underpants on. Of coarse we have a lot of laundry! How should I handle this?A: This one should be fairly easy to solve.
Review of the Changing Protein Requirements for Seniors
Youth, it is said, is wasted on the young. Too busy figuring life they hardly take the time to enjoy it.
Hinged Rail Stair Lifts
If a door at the top or the bottom of the stairs may be blocked by the rail of the stairlift, there are a number of models designed to overcome this problem. Some manufacturers are able to produce a rail with reduced overhang upstairs, so the lift will not protrude as far into the hallway.
|