Research on tips for carers

 Tips with communication, memory and care for carers

Tips from other carers to help look after someone

·      Try to establish a routine.

·      Allow them some independence.

·      Help them maintain their dignity.

·      Avoid confrontation whenever possible.

·      Keep tasks simple.

·      Maintain a sense of humour.

·      Make sure your home is as safe as possible.

·      Encourage them to take exercise.

·      Help make the best of their existing abilities.

·      Remember that problems are probably due to the disease, not the person.

·      At all times be flexible, because dementia is progressive, and you are both going to have to adapt with the changes that occur as time goes on.

·      Learn as much as possible about his condition.

·      Keep in touch with other carers.

·      Recognise when the strain on you and your family is becoming too much.

Improving Communication

Communication does become increasingly difficult as dementia progresses. However, there are quite a number of things that can help communication:

·      Make sure they can see, hear and speak as well as possible.

·      Attract their attention before you speak to them, perhaps by gently touching their arm.

·      Try to avoid other distractions, such as from a television (turn it off first).

·      While you are talking to them, try to keep your head and shoulders at the same level.

·      Try to maintain eye contact when either of you is speaking (this will help keep their attention).

·      Hold their hand during your conversation (a way of keeping their attention).

·      Try to remain as calm as possible.

·      Speak as clearly as you can.

·      Use short sentences and try to talk about only one thing at a time.

·      Give them plenty of time to answer.

·      Write things down if they find this helpful.

·      Watch their body language for visual clues as to how they might be feeling.

·      Remember that you also can communicate non-verbally with them-for example, with facial expressions or by giving them a hug.

Memory Aids

A useful way of helping them cope with their loos of memory is to encourage them to make the most of everyday memory aids and also devise personalised ‘memory joggers’.

·      Keep familiar objects in their usual places, where they can see them easily.

·      Make sure that watches and clocks show the correct time.

·      Indicate today’s date on any calendars, perhaps marking off the days as they pass.

·      Put up a message board in a prominent place and establish a habit of using it.

·      Make a list of the day’s activities and put it somewhere that it can be found easily. Encourage them to refer to it often and to tick off each activity as it is completed.

·      If they have to be left alone at home, leave a clear note saying where you are and when you are due back. Try to establish a regular pattern so that your absences are part of a routine.

·      Put up photographs of family members and close friends, all clearly named. Or add names to pictures in an album and encourage them to view them often.

·      People in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease often have their own ways to aid their memory.

Community Care

·      ‘Community care’ is a general term for services provided to help people with illness or disability to continue to live in their own homes and to encourage independence.

·      Legislation confirms Social Services departments’ responsibility to assess people’s needs (by a procedure known as a needs assessment).

·      The aim is that services will be provided to keep people in their own homes for as long as possible.

·      There are a number of different services designed to support people in their own homes.

·      However, the range and level of services vary a great deal from area to area.

Are any forms of dementia curable?

·      Some rare forms of dementia-including those associated with an under-active thyroid gland, brain tumours, or some vitamin deficiencies (for example, of vitamin B12 ).

·      Most types of dementia, however, cannot be cured and those that can be are very rare.

Drug treatments

·      No drugs have been discovered that can cure Alzheimer’s disease or stop it from getting worse over time.

·      Some dementia drugs are now available that may improve some of the symptoms such as memory loss and disorientation, and can slow down the progression of the symptoms.

·      Other kinds of drugs are sometimes useful for treating some of the changes in behaviour, such as sleeplessness and agitation.

·      The main development has been the introduction of two types of drugs.

·      The first type is called cholinesterase inhibitors or anticholinesterase drugs. These drugs reduce the breakdown of acetylcholine, a chemical found in the brain.

·      Anticholinesterase drugs currently available in the UK include donepezil (Aricept), galantamine (Reminyl) and rivastigmine (Exelon).

·      The second type of drug is NMDA antagonists. NMDA stands for N-methyl-D-aspartate, one of the chemicals involved in memory. At present one drug of this type is available, called memantine (Ebixa).

How do the dementia drugs help people with Alzheimer’s disease?

·      Several clinical trials have found that anticholinesterase drugs seem to relieve some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in some people.

·      People who take these drugs may experience a slight improvement, but the main effect is that the drugs delay worsening of symptoms of dementia-in some people by up to six months, or even longer.

·      These drugs do not work in all patients and their effect is variable.

Reflection
This piece helped me gain a better of the practical side of caring for someone with dementia. I thought it could be useful if I decided to make a guide book for a relative of someone who has dementia to help them cope. I think I will focus on my poster idea because there have already been books out about how to cope with caring for someone with dementia so it would merely be a rehash of them.