Many people with Alzheimer’s disease live alone – and are left to fend for themselves. In a report this year, the Alzheimer’s Association noted:

An estimated 800,000 individuals with Alzheimer’s – more than one in seven – live alone.

Of those who live alone, up to half of them do not have an identifiable caregiver.

People with Alzheimer’s and other dementias who live alone are exposed to higher risks – including inadequate self-care, malnutrition, untreated medical conditions, falls, wandering from home unattended and accidental deaths – compared with those who do not live alone. An important message to share with your readers:

Home Instead CAREGivers are specially trained to help clients who have Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias remain in their home settings. In addition to companionship, a CAREGiver is trained to manage the challenging behaviors of those with Alzheimer’s or other dementias.

For more about Alzheimer’s and other dementias, go to http://www.helpforalzheimersfamilies.com/.

Our CAREGivers also help with light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders and transportation needs.

Home Care Etobicoke ON for seniors and elderly choosing to stay home instead. Please call us at (416) 239-2200.

People with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia become increasingly unable to take care of themselves. Physical challenges can also develop. By being aware of possible dangers and taking ongoing preventative action you can reduce the likelihood of accidents and injuries.

The best way to avoid a hazardous situation is to closely examine your loved one’s living situation and make modifications. This is not just a one-time activity either. Others or your loved one may bring or move items that could cause concern. Generally hazards to watch for fall into one of three categories:

• household
• physical
• financial

Some common financial mistakes include forgetting or overpaying bills or misunderstanding the mail. For example, your loved one may fall for a gimmick that prompts them to send money or cash for items that never arrive.

Make sure your loved one has a durable power of attorney for finances, a will, and a revocable living trust.

Stay in contact with their financial advisor, CPA and/or tax attorney.

You don’t want your loved one’s utilities to be shut off due to unpaid bills.

Prevention of hazardous situations begins with awareness. Every room and item in your loved one’s house is a potential safety concern. This is especially true as the Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia progresses. Use the Home Instead Senior Care® network’s PREVENT system to help you keep your loved one safe.

A Self Care Tip for the Family Caregiver:

Home Care Etobicoke ON for seniors and elderly choosing to stay home instead. Please call us at (416) 239-2200.

A recent study from the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior suggests that using yoga to engage in brief daily meditation can lead to lower levels of depression for caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease. Many of your readers know that loneliness, exhaustion, fear, stress and depression takes a toll on caregivers.

Dr. Helen Lavretsky, professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and her colleagues report a further benefit: a reduction in stress-induced cellular aging.

On average, the incidence and prevalence of clinical depression in family dementia caregivers approaches 50 percent, Dr. Lavretsky said.

While medication can improve depression, many caregivers may be opposed to the use of medication because of the associated cost and drug side effects. That consideration motivated Dr. Lavretsky and her colleagues to test a brief mind-body intervention for stress reduction.

Often depression sneaks in slowly, as breathing patterns change from too much stress, age, or illness. The deep, invigorating breath techniques of Yoga bring large amounts of fresh oxygen to the brain and other parts of the body.

A regular practice of Yoga will protect you from depression and help you stay bright-minded, while recognizing the signals that depression is giving you. To begin with, choose three exercises that appeal to you, and do them every day. Then, as you get more comfortable, expand your routine to give yourself more of a challenge and increase the beneficial effects.

Family caregivers who are tending to senior loved ones with Alzheimer’s or other dementias can turn to a Home Instead CAREGiver in the Etobicoke ON area who is specially trained for the task – call (416) 239-2200.

For more about Alzheimer’s and other dementias, go to http://www.helpforalzheimersfamilies.com/.

Home Care Etobicoke ON for seniors and elderly choosing to stay home instead. Please call us at (416) 239-2200.

Most people with Alzheimer’s disease have one or more other serious medical conditions – a medical situation that’s called “co-morbidity.” Dementia complicates management of these conditions and makes treating other diseases more expensive. Take a look at these two facts related to medical costs, which the Alzheimer’s Association reported recently:

A senior with diabetes and Alzheimer’s costs Medicare 81 percent more than a senior who has diabetes but no Alzheimer’s.

A senior who has cancer and Alzheimer’s costs Medicare 53 percent more than a senior with cancer but no Alzheimer’s.

According to the AlzheimerSociety of Canada:

Prevalence:

In 2010, more than 500,000 Canadians were living with dementia.

Of these, approximately 71,000 are under the age of 65.

1 in 11 Canadians over 65 has dementia.

Women account for 72 per cent of all Alzheimer cases, and 62 per cent of all dementia cases.

Within a generation, the numbers of Canadians living with dementia will more than double to 1.1 million.

Economic impact

In 2010, the cost of dementia in Canada was estimated at $22 billion a year. The cost estimate includes Costs the direct costs of health care services, the opportunity costs of caregiving’s impact on the ability to work, and the indirect costs of lost productivity and lost wages. If nothing changes, this number will climb to $153 billion a year within a generation.
Note: Over the next 25 years, the cumulative economic cost of dementia (in 2010 dollars) is expected to exceed $872 billion.

With the assistance of a Home Instead CAREGiver, family caregivers can have the support they need to help their senior loved ones reside in their own homes despite these co-morbidity issues. A CAREGiver can provide:

Medication reminders

Help with meal preparation

Lend a hand with light housekeeping

Run errands

Transportation needs

For more about Alzheimer’s and other dementias, go to http://www.helpforalzheimersfamilies.com/.

Your local Home Instead Senior Care office in the Etobicoke ON area provides CAREGivers who are trained to care for your senior living with Alzheimer’s disease. Our CAREGivers also help with light housekeeping and companionship needs. For personal home care in Etobicoke, please check with your local office by calling (416) 239-2200.

Home Care Etobicoke ON for seniors and elderly choosing to stay home instead. Please call us at (416) 239-2200.

Capturing and preserving memories for a family member with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias can happen in a number of ways. It might entail turning on a favorite 1940s big band hit, spreading photos out on the coffee table, intentionally creating a list of questions to ask, and sitting down in the living room together to record the thoughts your loved one shares. Or reminiscing might occur more spontaneously during a family gathering. Make sure you have a notepad or video camera handy!

Keep these considerations in mind:

1. Do involve other family members; don’t put the person with Alzheimer’s on the spot.

2. Do look at photographs together; don’t expect the person to recognize everything.

3. Do share your own thoughts as they relate to the memories your loved one shares; don’t monopolize the conversation.

4. Do ask specific, personal questions; don’t interrogate.

5. Do ask good questions and record the discussion; don’t expect a five-hour session.

6. Do focus on general memories and emotions; don’t focus on exact facts and details.

Activities to capture and preserve memories with a family member living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias should focus on what that person can and wants to remember. That’s part of the training of the www.HelpforAlzheimersFamilies.com – Alzheimer’s Disease or Other Dementias CARE: Changing Aging Through Research and Education Program. Family caregivers can learn these same skills for free as well.

Coming soon, an interactive educational course, brought to you by Home Instead Senior Care, gives caregivers instructive information about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, valuable insight for providing better care, and techniques to help improve the quality of life for both you and your loved one experiencing memory loss. Visit HelpforAlzheimersFamilies.com to learn more.

Your local Home Instead Senior Care office in the Etobicoke ON area provides CAREGivers who are trained to care for your senior living with Alzheimer’s disease. Our CAREGivers also help with light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders and transportation needs. For personal home care in Etobicoke, please check with your local office by calling (416) 239-2200.

Home Care Etobicoke ON for seniors and elderly choosing to stay home instead. Please call us at (416) 239-2200.

Seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias should strive to continue to do as much as they can for as long as possible and home might be just the place. “The preferred environment for those with dementia is generally at home,” said Dr. Jane F. Potter, chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  “At home, they will be engaged in self-care and will be more active.”

These tips could help them manage dementia while at home:

Help seniors do as much as they can, but don’t expect them to do what they can’t. Start an activity and simplify the task, then ask the senior loved one to help or join in.

Simplify the task. When dressing, put that senior in a position to do as much as possible. Make it easy for them to do that by laying out clothing in sequential order.

Start an activity and then ask the senior to help. If your mom has forgotten how to make that favorite family recipe, start the process and have her help with whatever she can.

Coming soon, an interactive educational course, brought to you by Home Instead Senior Care, gives caregivers instructive information about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, valuable insight for providing better care, and techniques to help improve the quality of life for both you and your loved one experiencing memory loss. Visit HelpforAlzheimersFamilies.com to learn more.

Your local Home Instead Senior Care office in the Etobicoke ON area provides CAREGivers who are trained to care for your senior living with Alzheimer’s disease. Our CAREGivers also help with light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders and transportation needs. For personal home care in Etobicoke, please check with your local office by calling (416) 239-2200.

Home Care Etobicoke ON for seniors and elderly choosing to stay home instead. Please call us at (416) 239-2200.

One of the most common frustrations among family caregivers is the propensity for people with dementia to be repetitive. Other behaviors include refusal, delusions (or false beliefs), aggression, false accusations, wandering and agitation.

Such behavior can try family caregivers to the breaking point, Alzheimer’s expert David Troxel confirms. These are techniques from the Home Instead Senior Care network’s Alzheimer’s Disease or Other Dementias CARE: Changing Aging Through Research and Education Training Program to help families manage these challenging behaviors:

Redirect. The first time a question comes up, take a few moments to answer the question fully and provide reassurance that all is well.

Physically move items or the senior from the environment. If an object or his or her surroundings are causing frustration, remove that item or the senior from that situation.

Offer simple choices. If a senior resists bathing, a simple choice would be: “Would you like your bath now or in one hour?” or “Would you like to take a bath or a shower today?”

Apologize and take the blame. Apologizing or taking the blame in a situation takes the attention off of the older adult. It may help them calm down if they believe something was not their fault.

Alzheimer’s experts suggest that a family caregiver should try managing a difficult behavior three times in three different ways to achieve the best results. Remember our CAREGivers are trained in working with seniors who have Alzheimer’s or other dementias, can assist them and their senior loved ones. For more on Alzheimer’s and other dementias, go to http://www.helpforalzheimersfamilies.com or call (416) 239-2200.

Our CAREGivers also help with light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders and transportation needs.

Home Care Etobicoke ON for seniors and elderly choosing to stay home instead. Please call us at (416) 239-2200.

Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning and intellectual reasoning due to changes in the brain caused by disease. Those with dementia tend to repeat questions, become disoriented in familiar places, neglect personal hygiene or nutrition, or get confused about people or time. It can be caused by many things, some of which are reversible – such as vitamin deficiencies and poor nutrition, to reactions to medications or problems with the thyroid. However, some forms of dementia are irreversible, such as that caused by mini strokes or Alzheimer’s.

The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Other types of dementia include Vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and Frontotemporal dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are not a normal part of aging. Some researchers think you may lower your odds or delay the onset of getting dementia by exercising, eating well, staying socially active, and using your brain.

It is important to remember that Alzheimer’s is a medical condition and disease of the brain. If the brain affects thoughts, feelings, personality, and behavior, then Alzheimer’s is going to affect how your loved one thinks, what he feels, who he is, and what he does. The range of symptoms can be enormous. Also, people with Alzheimer’s don’t necessarily “look” sick. Although Alzheimer’s disease is a physical illness, it often doesn’t affect a person’s appearance until the later stages of the disease. This might be confusing to you because your loved one may seem as healthy as ever, but just acting differently.

In order to better care for a relative suffering from severe dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, here is a video that that helps you better understand the different types of dementia. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO.

If you have a loved one affected by the disease and need help caring for them at home in Etobicoke ON, Home Instead Senior Care can provide CAREGivers trained in caring for all types of dementia. Please call us at (416) 239-2200.

Home Care Etobicoke ON for seniors and elderly choosing to stay home instead. Please call us at (416) 239-2200.

Alzheimer’s disease and the other dementias are usually slow and progressive illnesses. The average length of life after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is eight years, although many people live much longer. Know the signs that could indicate Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. It’s safe to say that the thing that Alzheimer’s and other dementias have in common is a high risk of behavioral disorders – change in personality, people behaving in ways counter to their prior personality.

The Alzheimer Society is Canada’s leading health charity for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias – clarifies that dementia is an umbrella term for a variety of brain disorders. Learn about the types of dementia and their impact on the brain by visiting Alzheimer’s Canada.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, these are 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s:

Memory loss that disrupts daily life.

Challenges in planning or solving problems.

Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure.

Confusion with time or place.

Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships.

New problems with words in speaking or writing.

Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.

Decreased or poor judgment.

Withdrawal from work or social activities.

Changes in mood and personality.

Socialization and support are important at all stages of the Alzheimer’s journey, but they are a key intervention during middle dementia. Structuring the day, arranging activities, and preventing isolation are important goals—goals that in home workers who have completed the Home Instead Senior Care network’s Alzheimer’s and Other Dementia Program support. Besides offering daily assistance with dressing, bathing, meal preparation and other tasks, our trained CAREGivers know how to plan activities they and their clients can enjoy together and how to have fun with their clients. Please call our local Etobicoke office to learn more about our Alzheimer’s care services (416) 239-2200.

You can also visit our additional resource for families dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease or Other Dementias CARE at www.HelpforAlzheimersFamilies.com.

Home Care Etobicoke ON for seniors and elderly choosing to stay home instead. Please call us at (416) 239-2200.

With severe weather season upon us, older adults may be among the most vulnerable victims when disasters strike. That’s why Home Instead Senior Care, the international caregiving company with more than 800 locations in 15 countries, has issued a disaster safety preparation checklist to help prepare seniors for the possibility of natural disasters.

Home Instead Senior Care’s Disaster Prep Checklist For Seniors:

____Tune in. Contact the local emergency management office to learn about the most likely natural disasters to strike your area. Stay abreast of what’s going on through your local radio or television.

____Take stock. Decide what your senior can or can’t do in the event of a natural disaster. Make a list of what would be needed if a disaster occurred. For example, if your loved one is wheelchair-bound, determine an evacuation strategy ahead of time. Prepare for whatever disaster could hit the area.

____ To go or to stay? When deciding to evacuate, older adults should go sooner rather than later. By waiting too long, they may be unable to leave if they require assistance.

____ Make a plan. Schedule a family meeting to develop a plan of action. Include in your plan key people – such as neighbors, friends, relatives and professional caregivers – who could help.

____ More than one way out. Seniors should develop at least two escape routes: one to evacuate their home and one to evacuate their community. The local emergency management office can tell you escape routes out of the community.

____Meet up. Designate a place to meet relatives or key support network people outside the house, as well as a second location outside the neighborhood, such as a school or church. Practice the plan twice a year.

____Get up and “Go Kit.” Have an easy-to-carry backpack including three days non-perishable food and water with an additional four days of food and water readily accessible at home. Have at least one gallon of bottled water per person per day. Refresh and replace your supplies at least twice a year. And don’t forget the blanket and paper products such as toilet paper.

____Pack extras and copies. Have at least a one-month supply of medication on hand at all times. Make ready other important documents in a waterproof protector including copies of prescriptions, car title registration and driver’s license, insurance documents and bank account numbers, and spare checkbook. Also take extra eyeglasses and hearing-aid batteries. Label every piece of important equipment or personal item in case they are lost.

____Your contact list. Compile a contact list and include people on a senior’s support network as well as doctors and other important health-care professionals.

____If you can’t be there. If you’re not living close by to help your loved one, enlist the help of family or friends, or contact a professional caregiving company.

If you would like additional resources for family caregiving, please contact our office at  (416) 239-2200 - we are happy to speak to you personally. 

Also, there is no charge for an in-home care consultation, or for any of the family caregiver support tools that we can share with you.

Home Care Etobicoke ON for seniors and elderly choosing to stay home instead. Please call us at (416) 239-2200.