In the early stages of dementia it is not uncommon for those not regularly and deeply involved with the patient to believe that nothing is wrong. Even family can question the spouse or siblings decisions thinking that the person living with dementia is still able to made decisions.
Someone living with dementia or memory loss becomes very good at faking knowledge and quickly changing the subject to hide their ignorance.
When it comes to nutrition those caring for a patient with early stage dementia must know that the disease will show itself in a myriad of ways. If you are not careful the nutritional intake of the patient will suffer. It is important to educate yourself so you can recognize the problems and work to correct them – particularly if they live alone.
The person:
* May begin to decrease variety in their diet, i.e., eat mostly cereal, soup, sweets, drink only soda – resulting in vitamin deficiency, especially B complex vitamins (needed for good cognition)
* May occasionally forget to eat, or forget that they already have eaten, and eat again
* May forget to drink, or deliberately restrict fluids (for less frequent urination), resulting in dehydration and complication of concurrent health problems and/or reduced cognition
* May be unaware of spoiled food in refrigerator
* May eat from dirty dishes or saved containers that have not been properly cleaned
* May forget that food is cooking on stove – resulting in burning or fire, or lose track of cooking times and serve food that is not cooked sufficiently
It is important to know that:
* Caffeine consumption may add to incontinence and/or agitation problems
* Alcohol consumption patterns may change – 5 pm cocktail may turn into 2-3, drinking more because she’s forgotten she already had one
They may have difficulty with complex tasks
* May have trouble with complex meal preparation (e.g., leave out some ingredients in recipes, forget to prepare parts of the meal, etc.)
* May begin to have problems with grocery shopping
* May skip meals, not eat on days when home delivered meals are not to liking or not sent Communication
* Person’s testimony about food eaten and when, may be unreliable
It is not generally a good idea to ask a dementia patient if they are hungry or thirsty, the answer will probably be no. If you fix a meal and put it in front of them they will generally eat it.
Being a family caregiver to a dementia patient can be exhausting and many caregivers die before the patient. Don’t become a statistic, ask for help.
When you or a loved one needs needs care related to a neurological disorder, whether it’s some form of dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s Disease or any number of conditions, BrightStar Care can help not only in managing the symptoms, but in enhancing the wellbeing of the patient and helping to promote optimal safety.
About BrightStar Care
BrightStar Care consists of 150+ franchises that provide homecare to anyone who needs it, from children to seniors, and medical staffing solutions to individuals, families and organizations nationwide. To learn more about benefits of home care and types of senior homecare services please visit www.brightstarcare.com/senior-home-care.
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