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When someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia, they are often still in the early stages of the condition and more than capable of living at home with family support or that of a home care agency. As the conditions progress, however, the home can become a difficult and sometimes hazardous environment. The irony here is that the home offers a better quality of life, and being surrounded by the familiar environment and objects that have been accumulated helps stave off the progression of the conditions. The compromise is to adapt the home to make it as safe and practical as possible. The good thing is it doesn’t have to cost you the earth to make the changes. By adopting these simple tips, changing things about a bit and buying some reasonably cheap items, you’ll go a long way to allowing a sufferer stay in a home environment for as long as possible, with or without home care. Avoid Accidents Upgrade your light bulbs and make sure you throw light into dim corners of the home. This will not only light the way but helps identify trip hazards. Dementia sufferers can find themselves up at night either because they’re having difficulty sleeping or they need the bathroom. Installing a night light in the room, and in the hall if you can, and leaving a light on in the toilet and bathroom at night will provide a safe route. Falls To avoid a possibly nasty fall grip rails and hand rails are easy to install, and are also a great help for climbing the stairs, getting into the home, out of chairs or manoeuvring around the bathroom. Seats and rails are also easy to install in showers. Stick down or remove loose carpets, especially on the stairs, and rugs around the home. If you can, get rid of rugs altogether. Remove or fix wobbly or unstable furniture. Make sure electrical flexes are not trailing across the floor, the landing or lying on a work surface or table. In the kitchen The best way to avoid stress in the kitchen is to make the utensils you use the most easy to access. Leave them out on the counter so there’s no need to rummage in the cupboards, especially the high ones. Knives should always be put out of reach. Consider installing isolation valves to your gas cooker and electrical sockets and a flood detector in case taps are left on, especially if the sufferer likely to be at home alone. Dangerous substances If a person can no longer take their own medicine, lock it away and invest in a tablet container you can dispense their daily medication into. A person with Alzheimer’s or dementia may not recognise labels, so lock away everyday dangerous substances such as household cleaners, bleach, decorating supplies and medicines, including painkillers. Alarms Install smoke alarms around the house and a CO2 alarm near the boiler. If something is left on, such as an iron, or the boiler becomes dangerous the alarms will alert you to the danger. Test the alarm batteries regularly. So it’s easy to see how a de-cluttering of the home and some relatively inexpensive adaptations will make a big difference to the independence of the dementia sufferer, and everyone else who lives there. Jerry is a writer and blogger for Care and Choice, a home care worthing and Home Care Brighton care agency.
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