Image via Wikipedia

Families today have many varieties of living arrangements. Parents and children are cohabitating during more and more of life. Some recent college graduates are heading home to save money after school, and many elderly parents are moving back in with their grown children. When independent living and/or home health care grow too expensive or impractical, it just makes sense to have everyone under the same roof. However, accepting a person, parent, and/or relative with Alzheimer's into our home will require more than just sprucing up the spare bedroom. Follow these important tips to make your home safe and secure for a resident with Alzheimer's.
Lighting. Make sure all areas of the home are well lit in order to provide maximum possible visibility. Concentrate on areas of the home where there are steps up or down, and the top, bottom, and middle of staircases.
Outlets. Use child protective outlets to cover all open sockets.
Access to the Home. Have at least one door with a fingerprint or code access just in case the person with Alzheimer's locks you out. Hiding a key is another option that many families use, but keep in mind this is threatening to your general home security as burglars or intruders may be able to find it and break in. This can result in harm, damage and loss not only to your home and belongings but possibly to your loved ones. It is better in this instance to let technology take charge and use a keyless, yet secure, lock.
Display Emergency Info. Make sure every emergency number is clearly displayed near or on each and every phone around the home just in case the person with Alzheimer's needs to call out for assistance. Switch all phones to cord phones, so that the phone unit cannot be easily misplaced or lost.
Lock Up Dangerous Chemicals and Substances. While many people only go as far as to lock up the medicine cabinet, think ahead and lock up everything from potent everyday chemical cleaning products, to alcohol, cigarettes, and household chemicals and cleaners that might be found in the garage or garden shed. It's impossible to know what might be mistaken for an acceptable substance to use or consume by a person with Alzheimer's, so it's better to be safe than sorry.
Create Open Spaces. While it might not be the most attractive way to arrange your furniture, try to create as many open spaces as possible to prevent slips, trips and falls around the house. Avoid low tables that are not against a wall, ottomans, stools, and other such items that are easily mobile but not so easily visible. Keep stairs and common areas free of clutter like laundry, books, magazines, newspapers, shoes, etc.
Remove Tools and Weapons. When worried about home security, many families lock up their tools and weapons not only to keep unauthorized family members from accidentally picking up the wrong item, but to keep intruders from turning any given tool into a weapon to use against the homeowner. Use the same strategy and lock up anything that could possibly be considered a weapon, or could harm the person with Alzheimer's if used incorrectly.
Install a Monitored Home Security System. In the event of an emergency, it's important to have a fast and easy way for the person with Alzheimer's to get help even without having to call for it. Choose a system with intruder, fire, flood and carbon monoxide protection that alerts both family members and authorities at the first sign of trouble.

Installing an alarm system is an important first step towards home security. Keep in mind an adt home alarm can protect family members in the event of any kind of emergency, not just a break in.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Levi_Mortenson

Related articles

• Purchasing Glass Break Detectors for Your Home Security System (homesecuritysystems.net)
• When Your Alarm Goes Off (securitysystems.org)
• How Do Home Security Systems Sensors And Other Components Operate? (homesecuritysystems.net)
• Alarm.com Offers Home Security Tips For National Crime Prevention Month (prweb.com)
• Smoking Doubles Alzheimer Risk | alzheimers (fitnesstipsforlife.com)
• Home Security System Fundamentals (socyberty.com)
• Essential Tips To Ensure Ohio Home Wireless Security (mydecorarticles.com)
• Home Security Kits (livecrunch.com)

Image via Wikipedia

No one ever chooses Alzheimer's disease. Given a choice of Alzheimer's or cancer, many people would choose cancer. Why? Cancer victims are usually allowed to maintain their dignity. They are still given respect. Their fight is seen as brave and valiant. People who struggle with mental illnesses are not always given the same respect. This seems especially true for those who have been victimized by Alzheimer's. They lose everything, including their dignity. They are seen as "crazy people" and often become the subject of distasteful jokes. People who are not familiar with Alzheimer's disease don't understand their struggles and many will try to avoid those who are sick with this disease. Alzheimer's caregivers have the task of restoring dignity and respect to the unfortunate victims of Alzheimer's.
Here are some tips to help caregivers accomplish this goal:
• Never discuss Alzheimer's disease or the fact that the person has Alzheimer's in front of them. No one knows how much the sick person understands. Suppose they understand the conversation but are unable to organize their thoughts or vocalize them at the time. Discussing their condition in front of the person seems heartless, and yet it happens all the time. If you experience this happening in a care facility, express your feelings and ask that the staff refrain from doing this in front of your loved one. When this happened to my aunt, she was upset by the conversation. There's no excuse for inflicting any more pain on those who have already lost so much to their disease. A considerate caregiver will be careful to avoid such situations.
• Make it a priority to familiarize others around your loved one with who they were before the onset of their disease. Help other people appreciate their accomplishments and interests. Teach others to see them as someone of value who has loved and been loved. Remind people that they are still capable of loving even with Alzheimer's. Naturally, they still need love, too.
• Be patient with them. Their unpredictable behavior will not always be pleasant. Try not to take it personally when they become difficult. Remember they have a disease and cannot be held accountable for their actions. This isn't always easy, but is an absolute necessity for all Alzheimer's caregivers.
• Keep the person's appearance neat and clean. Issues like incontinence and refusing to bathe will complicate this, but we see this as a dignity issue, too. My aunt always loved dressing nicely. Since we became responsible for her care, we've worked to maintain her previous appearance as closely as possible. Even with Alzheimer's, she is still concerned that her clothes match and that she feels confident about how she looks. This includes keeping her hair combed and make-up done nicely.
• Maintain as much "normalcy" as possible in the person's daily life. Include activities that they enjoy and social interaction whenever possible. Make necessary adaptations to accomplish this. Try to focus on seeing the person as "living with Alzheimer's" instead of "dying with a terminal illness." One little woman with Alzheimer's told me once, "I'm going to live until I die." Allow the one in your life who struggles with Alzheimer's to do the same.
• Take any opportunity to educate people about Alzheimer's disease and how it impacts its victims. Perhaps a better understanding of this disease will help people become more comfortable around those who suffer with it.
The demands are enormous on those responsible for Alzheimer's care. One of the most loving and kind contributions an Alzheimer's caregiver can make is to give dignity to the one who is sick.

Having traveled the road herself, Lisa W. Smith is an expert at helping Alzheimer's caregivers cope with the emotional, financial, and legal stress of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's. She has created an electrifying report, "An Alzheimer's Horror Story: Killing Her Slowly!" which highlights part of this journey. For a FREE copy of this report, visit: http://www.AlzheimersOnlineTips.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_W._Smith

Related articles

• NYT: The Age of Alzheimer's (sentientdevelopments.com)
• Smoking Doubles Alzheimer Risk | alzheimers (fitnesstipsforlife.com)
• Alzheimer's and Its Impact on Women (webmd.com)
• Eisai Inc. and the Alzheimer's Association Honor Community Pharmacist for Outstanding Service to Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease (eon.businesswire.com)
• Battling Alzheimer's With Stats and a Personal Story (caregiving.com)
• The Age of Alzheimer's (nytimes.com)
• "Heavy Smoking and Dementia Linked" and related posts (psychcentral.com)
• Transparent super armor created from Alzheimer's protein (dvice.com)
• Survey Reveals Alzheimer's Caregivers' Top Concerns (nlm.nih.gov)
• Alzheimer's Daughter: Maria Shriver vs. Disease (abcnews.go.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Alzheimer’s is one disease that people dread to be diagnosed with. Who can blame them?

It is one of the most debilitating disease known to man and it affects not only one area or one system but all. Of course, since it is a progressive disease, effects on the various systems of the body does not happen at one time.

As the disease progress, the effects become wide-range.

Alzheimer’s disease is perhaps the best-known disease under Dementia, a disorder that affects the mental processes. It is characterized by the progressive loss of memory that may lead to inattentions and inability to focus at a task, language problems and behavioral changes.

Patients with Alzheimer’s disease for instance may initially find themselves at a loss for words or unable to remember some bits of facts that happened the day before. But as the days progress, they will find themselves starting to forget important things like their addresses, their age and sometimes even their names.

Patients who are in the later stages of Alzheimer’s will start to forget how to do routinary things like brushing their teeth, taking a bath or using their utensils. Some may not speak altogether because they will often forget the words that they should be using or saying. Some will also behave differently, brought on by the frustration of not being able to do the things that they used to do. Often times, patients at the later stages will become dependents, acting like children who do not know what to do with themselves.

Although there are medicines that can slow down the progress of the disease especially if discovered early on, there is no solution to the problem. Once it settles into the system, it would be there for life and there is no chance of it ever disappearing.
Like medicines, there are activities that according to scientists can slow down the progression. Below are just some of them:

Read

Something as simple as reading the newspaper everyday and keeping your mind informed with the latest news is already something that can prevent the disease from settling in. Just make it a point to use your brain. Be an analytical reader and raise questions and do not just absorb the texts and then forget about it. Being an active reader and allowing your imagination free reign will go a long way for exercising the brain. In fact, studies have shown that people who love to read are less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Answer puzzles

Another mental exercise that people with Alzheimer’s do to help slow down the process is to answer puzzles such as word hunts, cross words and even Sudoku. The more that you use your brain, the better will be your prognosis. Answering word games will also make sure that you practice words and increase your vocabulary, making it less likely for you to forget words and language.

Attend classes

Being old does not mean that you cannot learn. Patients with Alzheimer’s should make it a point to learn something new. This will exercise their brains. Creative tasks such as arts and crafts is another way to tap into the brain’s resources without tiring them out. Learning a new thing also gives people with Alzheimer’s the sense of purpose that they have lost since they were diagnosed with the disease.
  

Related articles

• Alzheimer's Unlocked (time.com)
• Early Alzheimer's Studies Show Promise (abcnews.go.com)
• Getting a Jump on Alzheimer's: Patients' Children Join Studies (abcnews.go.com)
• Worried About Alzheimer's Disease? Walk It Off. (zocdoc.com)
• Alzheimer's and Its Impact on Women (webmd.com)
• Dementia and the role of mental exercise - Health & Wellbeing (avantrasara.com)
• Alzheimer's: New Research on Understanding the Disease (time.com)
• Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Enters Next Phase of Research (nlm.nih.gov)
• Steve Joyce: Trial to Improve Alzheimer's Diagnosing Needs Participants (agingcare.com)
• The New Science of Alzheimer's (time.com)