Home Health Care: Have you been trying to manage your elderly loved one’s care?
Did you recently find out they have dementia? If so, it would be very helpful to learn all about the different stages of dementia and what type of home health care you should be considering. Hopefully, this dementia guide will give you a good idea of what to expect in the various stages of this disease. While not all these things may happen or even in this order, these are all symptoms that most people with dementia do experience.
The Mild Stage
The first stage of dementia is the mildest. Generally, it begins with some short-term memory loss. Some of the other things you might notice your elderly loved one doing include:
- Forgetting basic words such as sock or bed
- Misusing phrases
- Misplacing their belongings
- Asking the same question repetitively
- Difficulty doing basic tasks such as brushing their teeth or getting dressed
During this stage, your elderly loved one might be aware that they have dementia. They might try to hide the symptoms they are experiencing or cover them up. For example, if you confront them about forgetting something, they may quickly just say they are tired and that is why they forgot. It is a good idea to let them know you understand and will be there for them when needed.
The Moderate Stage
The next stage of dementia is referred to as the moderate stage. The biggest change from the first stage to this one is the increase in your elderly loved one’s memory loss. They will also be more confused and disoriented. Some of the other things you might notice with your elderly loved one during this stage include:
- Not recognizing friends or family members
- Becoming increasingly frustrated with their caregivers
- Not being able to take care of tasks such as paying bills or cooking meals
- Not following social norms
- Difficulty judging situations which can lead to risky actions and behaviors
- Not taking care of their own safety
Depending on the severity of your elderly loved one’s condition at this point, you might want to get them 24-hour home care services.
The Severe Stage
The final stage of dementia is the most severe. At this point, your elderly loved one is going to lose their memory completely. Some of the other things you will notice with your elderly loved one at this point include:
- Not being able to recognize faces or names of loved ones or friends
- Delusional thinking such as believing they need to go to work when they haven’t done so in years
- Needing complete assistance with eating, sitting up, walking, and other daily living skills and activities
When your elderly loved one reaches this stage, they will need 24-hour home care. This can be extremely difficult to do on your own. Don’t hesitate to reach out to senior care providers for the help your elderly loved one needs.
Home Health Care: Conclusion
Did your elderly loved one recently get diagnosed with dementia? If so, learning all you can about the stages of this disease can help you to know what is coming. While there is no guarantee of when symptoms will arise or what exactly will happen, the symptoms above are a general guideline of what could happen. Home health care can be a great option to help you with this.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Health Care in Los Altos, CA, call the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care.
Call today: (415) 795-2203
Sources
https://medlineplus.gov/dementia.html
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