When Do You Know When a Person Needs to Be in a Nursing Home Has Dementia

In the popular understanding of dementia, people with dementia tin't safely live alone. They don't recognize their loved ones and might barely even know themselves. This portrayal is a simplistic picture of a complex collection of diseases. Dementia is a dull and unpredictable disease. Information technology doesn't always manifest as cognitive bug. For case, the key symptom of a dementia chosen principal progressive aphasia is a loss of the ability to speak, frontotemporal dementia might manifest as behavioral changes, and Alzheimer's may progress slowly for many years.

Farther complicating the film is the reality that people with dementia may seem fine one moment and lost the next. Many people with dementia may not exist diagnosed for years—or fifty-fifty at all. Sometimes, family unit members confuse normal aging for dementia. And occasionally, loved ones think an elder with dementia is faking or exaggerating their symptoms.

Then how can you tell when an elder with dementia needs assisted living? In that location'due south no definitive test, just the post-obit five signs suggest that a struggling senior needs additional help.

one. A Senior Can't Consummate Basic Tasks of Daily Living

I of the clearest signs that a senior needs more help than they're getting occurs is they can't complete the basic tasks of daily living, such as showering, eating, using the toilet, brushing teeth, and getting dressed.

If you spend a lot of time with an aging loved one, you might already know they're struggling with these tasks. Sometimes the signs are hidden. Clues to sentinel for include:

• A dramatic change in preparation habits. A woman who once did her makeup every morning might now look disheveled.
• A strange trunk scent.
• A foul smell in the business firm.
• Frequent trips to the bathroom, possibly due to incontinence. Alternatively, your loved one might not become to the bath at all.
• Very bad jiff, missing teeth, or signs of tooth disuse.
• Appearing overwhelmed by daily activities.
• Unexplained weight loss.
• Being unable to cook or shop for groceries.

2. A Senior Makes Dangerous Decisions or Shouldn't Be Alone

Ultimately, the goal of assisted living is to keep your loved ane safe. Dementia robs seniors of critical thinking skills and makes information technology difficult for them to remember to lock the doors and turn off the stove. When the disease progresses, their concrete safety can be in jeopardy. Some warning signs include:

• Frequent wandering. Your loved one gets lost, doesn't answer their telephone, or seems dislocated about where they are.
• Bad brusk-term retentiveness. Your loved one might forget to turn off the stove or the faucet, or neglect to lock the doors.
• Non understanding how household objects function. Does your loved one know how to call for assist on the phone, or what to do if the smoke detector goes off? If not, a small-scale emergency could turn into a tragedy.
• Poor judgment. Would your loved ane invite a stranger into their home or give away all of their money? If so, they need extra support.
• Dangerous driving. Some seniors continue driving fifty-fifty when they shouldn't. Others continue driving even when they've been told non to or lost their license. If your loved one gets into accidents or their car shows signs of impairment, it's time to worry.
• Unsafe or unusual behavior. Some seniors begin showing signs of aggression equally dementia progresses. Others may lose their inhibitions and engage in sexually inappropriate behavior, shoplifting, or other behaviors that can put them in danger.

iii. A Senior Is Hurting Emotionally

Caregivers sometimes worry that seniors who transition to assisted living volition feel "locked away" or isolated. For most seniors, assisted living offers significantly more companionship and freedom than they previously had. Your loved one volition accept access to caregivers and friends, to classes and chances to larn and socialize.

By the fourth dimension most seniors move to assisted living, they are very isolated. They can't drive. They may be confused or frightened. They may be aroused with loved ones and uncertain virtually the future. If the senior you lot dearest is depressed or suffering emotionally, it may be time to brand a change. That's doubly true if yous tin't provide them with regular outings, enough of socialization, and lots of reassurance.

4. A Senior Is at Risk of Beingness Taken Advantage Of

As a person with dementia's cognitive capacities turn down, their vulnerability to abuse and scams increases. This is doubly true if they are managing their own finances or if someone who lacks fiscal literacy has taken over their banking company accounts.

Many family members delay the transition to assisted living because they worry that a senior volition be less happy. Some even cite concerns nigh abuse in assisted living. The reality is that a senior with dementia is much more than vulnerable to abuse when they don't get the intendance assisted living can offer. Some warning signs that a senior is at take chances of abuse include:

• Falling for fiscal scams.
• Not knowing how to pay their bills.
• Making serious mistakes paying bills.
• Signing documents without reading or understanding them.
• Assuasive problematic people—such equally a drug-fond child—into the abode.
• Poor disquisitional thinking skills. For case, a senior might decline the assistance of a responsible caregiver in favor of a much-beloved but often delinquent family member.

Caregivers Are Overwhelmed or Neglectful

Most seniors say they would prefer to receive care from a loved one. The reality is that caregiving is an exhausting brunt. If yous're a caregiver, your ain life might suffer. And information technology'due south highly unlikely yous can truly fulfill all of your duties without feeling depressed or resentful. Some caregivers begin neglecting their duties because they just tin't juggle it all.

If you can't be everything to the senior you beloved, don't feel guilty. Assisted living tin can step in and fill the gaps, assuasive you to enjoy your relationship again. That's the dazzler of quality care. Information technology gives seniors a hazard at a good life—even when dementia robs them of their memories or their thinking skills. Your loved one can feel happy over again. You can enjoy your time together again. Let us show you how.

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Source: https://www.arborcompany.com/blog/how-to-tell-if-someone-with-signs-of-dementia-needs-assisted-living

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