How to Care for Families of Alzheimer's Disease Patients

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eHow

Instructions
Step 1Get Google news alerts, and other information on the Internet about the latest developments in Alzheimer's disease care and treatment.

Step 2Read books about other Alzheimer's disease caregivers' advice and experiences.

Step 3Attend workshops and conferences about Alzheimer's disease. Many have an adult day care option.

Step 4Consider taking Alzheimer's caregiver skills training. Caring for an Alzheimer's disease patient at home requires special expertise that may be new to you and other family caregivers. Training programs teach skills in how to handle loved ones with Alzheimer's disease. These skills minimize frustration, because you learn what to expect and how to deal with difficult behaviors and mood swings.

Step 5Join a support group. Support groups are safe places where family members and caregivers talk about their feelings, get moral and emotional support, find out useful information, and speak with people who can relate to their stress.

Step 6Participate in individual and family counseling, A study reported in the August 2006 issue of "Neurology" said that effective programs of counseling and participation in support groups could yield considerable benefits for caregivers, patients with Alzheimer disease, and society.

Step 7Send your loved one with Alzheimer's disease to an adult day care program. They provide you with some time to yourself and give the family member with Alzheimer's disease a great place to have fun while keeping his mind and body active.

Step 8Consider......read all of How to Care for Families of Alzheimer's Disease Patients

How to Cope With Early Dementia

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting Corrier-journal.comactivities

Here is a dementia music activity

eHow

It is normal to experience a wide range of emotions in response to a diagnosis of early-onset dementia, which causes problems in memory, judgment, language and behavior. Early-onset dementia begins before the age of 65. People use a number of coping strategies to deal with their dementia. Keep these things in mind to best cope in ways that help you and your family.

For the Person and the Family
Step 1Get an accurate diagnosis. This means getting a thorough physical and mental exam. Some early dementias may be caused by certain medications or treatable diseases. If you can correct these types of problems, you may be able to eliminate the dementia.

Step 2Join a support group. Whether you are a caregiver, a family member, or the person with early dementia, a support group helps you cope with this condition, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance.

Step 3Keep informed of the latest treatment options.

Step 4Rely on humor. Laughter is good for the person with earky dementia and his family and caregivers.

Step 5Keep the lines of communication open. As the dementia progresses, this responsibility falls more on the caregivers and family.

Step 6Consider keeping a journal. Both the person with dementia and family members should do this. Then share the information in the journals. This will be especially useful as the dementia progresses. Write entries together as the dementia gets worse.

Step 7Plan for the future. Get financial and legal matters in order.

For the Person With Early Dementia
Step 1Give up bad habits. Smoking, eating fatty foods or junk foods make dementia worse.

Step 2Continue seeing your doctor on a regular basis; he monitors your dementia and gives you useful information.

Step 3Take all your prescribed medications at the proper time. This becomes more difficult as the dementia progresses.

Step 4Tell your family or caregivers about any problems you are having.

Step 5Accept the assistance of your family or caregivers. They help you with your difficulties.

Step 6Eat a balanced diet. The Mediterranean Diet--rich in fish, olive oil, veggies--is delicious and may slow the progression of dementia, according to a Columbia University study published in the Archives of Neurology. Nikolaos Scarmeas, assistant professor of clinical neurology at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center, said the study showed that the Mediterranean diet is not only protective for cardiovascular risk factors like cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes--dementia patients who closely followed the diet lived an average of four years longer than those who did not--but is also an aid to brain function.

Step 7Exercise daily. Walking, working out at the gym, or exercising at home, all benefit your body and your mind. You'll sleep better, too.

Step 8Stimulate your brain. Try to do a variety of challenging mental activities. Crossword puzzles and other word games, strategy games like checkers, and reading all stimulate your brain. As the dementia gets worse, this becomes increasingly difficult. Do something for as long as you can.

Step 9Try prayer, meditation, and reading spiritual books to help you cope.

Step 10Do harder tasks at a time of day when you feel the most clarity.

For the Family
Step 1Take care of.......read all of How to Cope With Early Dementia