Your senior loved one’s safety at home should always be a priority. As Alzheimer’s disease progresses, you can expect your loved one will need help adjusting the home environment to meet his or her needs for safety. These tips can help you protect your loved one from harm and make it easier to continue to work on maintaining independence.
Make It Easy to Call for Help
Your loved one may need help remembering critical phone numbers. Make sure to post information next to the phone that helps your parent find out how to call for help in an emergency. If your loved one uses a cell phone, program the numbers with names he or she can remember. Alternatively, you can have your loved one wear an emergency alert device that allows him or her to call for help with the press of a button.
Eliminate Access to Hazardous Materials
Once Alzheimer’s disease has affected your loved one’s reasoning abilities, you may need to move items out of the house or into a secure storage area. For instance, flammable chemicals such as gasoline should be stored where your loved one can no longer access them without assistance. You may also need to lock up medicine so your loved one doesn’t take the wrong medication or dosage.
There are a variety of age-related health conditions that can make it more challenging for seniors to live independently. However, many of the challenges they face can be easier to address if their families opt for professional home care service. You can rely on expertly trained caregivers to keep your loved one safe and comfortable while aging in place.
Install a Security System
Alzheimer’s-related memory loss could cause your loved one to forget to lock the doors. Your loved one may also be susceptible to criminal activity if other people in the neighborhood view him or her as a target. Set up a home security system that gives you or other caregivers the ability to control it remotely using an app. The ability to lock your loved one’s house up at night or see who rings the doorbell before your parent answers it can stop potential crimes before they occur.
Guard against Wandering
Your loved one may also begin to wander away from home if he or she experiences confusion or memory lapses. Reduce the risk of accidental wandering by making sure your loved one can easily identify the doors he or she can go through. Different-colored bathroom and bedroom doors can draw your loved one’s attention to where he or she needs to go. You can also use wearable GPS tracking systems to help you find your loved one if he or she manages to leave the house.
One of the most challenging tasks of helping an elderly relative age in place safely and comfortably is researching agencies that provide senior care. Carmichael families can turn to Home Care Assistance for reliable, high-quality in-home care for aging adults. We offer 24-hour live-in care for seniors who require extensive assistance, and we also offer respite care for family caregivers who need a break from their caregiving duties.
Increase Fire Prevention Methods
Your loved one is also at risk for starting a house fire. If your parent smokes, remove all the smoking supplies that could start a fire, such as lighters and matches. You can also add safety knobs and automatic shutoff switches on appliances to increase safety in the kitchen.
Check the Locks
While you want your loved one to be able to lock up the house to prevent crime, you also need to make sure caregivers always have the ability to monitor his or her actions. Start by making sure you and any other caregivers have a key or the code to get into the house if you get locked out. Remove locks from bathroom and bedroom doors so your loved one doesn’t accidentally get locked inside.
Every senior living with Alzheimer’s deserves high-quality Alzheimer’s care. Carmichael families can rely on the caregivers at Home Care Assistance to keep their loved ones safe while managing the symptoms of the disease. Using our Cognitive Therapeutics Method, our caregivers help seniors regain a sense of pride and accomplishment while promoting cognitive health. If you need professional care for your loved one, Home Care Assistance is just a phone call away. Reach out to one of our Care Managers today at (916) 485-4663.