Help for an Elderly Man?

Question

I've been helping to take care of my neibor's husband. He's 88-years old and has beginers stage of Alheimers. We take care of him at the house cause he's not quite ready to go to a nursing home. Although he's still able to do things for himself and take care of his garden, theres' moments when he'll become confused or have dizzy spells and lose his balance. We need to find a way to keep him from banging himself up or tearing his skin. He's got two lumps on his forehead and about three skin tears on his arms. He's very stubborn and won't wear any kind of long-sleeve on his arms. Any advice?

Answer 1

I’m one of the writers for Gilbert Guide (the foremost resource for everything senior care), and I write quite a bit about Alzheimer’s. This is a difficult situation, as you already know. I am guessing it might be challenging to get him to wear protective gear considering his aversion to long-sleeve shirts. I recommend the following:

•Deal with the long-sleeve shirt issue. Does he not like them because he gets hot—or does he just like to feel the air on his arms? Once you discover the key issue, you can go from there. If he feels too hot in long sleeve shirts, perhaps you can try buying him shirts with breathable fabrics in his favorite colors. This might entice him to wear them. If he just doesn’t like having anything on his arms, maybe you can ease him into it by buying some three-quarter length shirts and working toward long sleeves. Granted, wearing long sleeves won’t prevent him from bruising if he falls, but it should help with the minor cuts.
•In regards to the lumps and bruises, short of wrapping him in bubble wrap, there’s not much you can do to safeguard his body. I recommend making sure his home’s a safe environment. I recently wrote a post on fall prevention that you might find helpful. You can view it at:
http://www.gilbertguide.com/blog/2006/11/27/fall-prevention-101/
•Get to the root of his dizziness. Schedule a medical exam with his doctor to assess his vision, heart rhythm and blood pressure. The doctor may conduct any of a series of tests and may recommend a series of exercises, medication or vestibular rehabilitation therapy (you can read about it here: http://www.utmedicalcenter.org/rehabilitation/rehabilitation_services/vestibular_rehabilitation_therapy/) Scientists are currently working on a medication to improve blood flow to the brain, so it would be wise to ask your doctor to keep you abreast of the latest pharmaceuticals.
•A few things that might help with dizziness: make sure he’s getting enough water so he doesn’t get dehydrated, encourage exercise, possibly yoga or activities that help with balance, suggest eating small portions every two hours, promptly treat ear infections if they develop, make sure his place is well-ventilated, see that he gets enough sleep and if he’s a smoker, encourage him to quit.

Here are a couple Alzheimer’s Resources to help you answer other questions that arise:
Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center
www.alzheimers.nia.nih.gov

Alzheimer’s Association
www.alz.org

I hope this information helps.
The Gilbert Guide Team

Answer 2

Suit him up in skateboard protective gear; knee guards, elbow guards, helmet. I would think that would help.

Answer 3

Maybe a helmet and padding his clothes?





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