Tips for Caring for an Elderly Adult with Lewy Body Dementia
Throughout the United States there are approximately 1.3 million people who are living with a degenerative condition known as Lewy Body Dementia. Also referred to as dementia with Lewy Bodies, this condition is an umbrella term that is used to cover both LBD and Parkinson’s disease dementia and is the second most commonly diagnosed form of dementia.
Home Health Care Chester PA – Tips for Caring for an Elderly Adult with Lewy Body Dementia
If you are a family caregiver for an elderly adult who is living with this type of condition it is important to recognize that the home health care that you give to them can be tremendously valuable for supporting their highest quality of life as they age in place and progress through the condition.
Use these tips to help you care for an elderly adult who is living with Lewy Body Dementia:
• Choose effective communication. Communicating with your elderly parent is an important part not just of the care that you give them, but also the quality of your relationship. The impact of LBD can make it more difficult to communicate. Be sure to maintain eye contact with your senior and speak to them clearly. Maintain a slow but natural pace and do not rush your parent in responding to you. Be patient and express just one idea at a time. Help them to understand by using cues, gestures, and pointing out items.
• Keep them active. Regular exercise is critical to everyone, but when a person is dealing with dementia it can be particularly important. Exercise helps your parent’s brain and body stay stronger, healthier, and more functional. Exercise can help to slow decline, support better physical functioning, reduce the instance of issues such as falls and injuries, and diminish depression.
• Stimulate their mind. Just like using their body will help to keep their muscles and joints stronger and more resilient, keeping their mind stimulated will do the same for it. Make mental stimulation a part of your regular routine by playing games, doing puzzles, and learning new things together.
• Establish routines. Routine and predictability are extremely important for people living with dementia. In LBD, symptoms, particularly those related to behavioral patterns, tend to worsen at night. Creating a bedtime routine can help your parent relax, get to sleep more easily, and enjoy better sleep with fewer symptoms. This is not only less stressful for both of you, but can help to keep their symptoms more in control the next day.
If your senior loved one has recently been diagnosed with dementia or their challenges and limitations have become too much for you to handle effectively and efficiently, now may be the ideal time for you to consider starting home health care for them. An elderly home health care services provider can be with your aging parent on a schedule that is right not just for their needs, but also for you as their family caregiver.
This means that you can give them the amount of care that you are able to and that you feel comfortable providing, while also knowing that they will receive the highly personalized services that they need to remain safe, healthy, comfortable, and happy while managing their individual needs in the way that is right for them. A home health care provider can also help your parent to maintain as much independence and activity as possible as they age in place, enabling them to enjoy a life that is as engaged and fulfilling as they can throughout the progression of their condition.
Sources: https://www.lbda.org/content/incidence-lewy-body-dementias-general-population
http://www.alz.org/dementia/dementia-with-lewy-bodies-symptoms.asp
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lewy-body-dementia/home/ovc-20200344
https://www.lbda.org/content/10-things-you-should-know-about-lbd
https://www.lbda.org/category/3437/what-is-lbd.htm
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Health Care Services in Chester PA, please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.
Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.
"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."
In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.
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