La Jolla Senior Care News

4 Tips for Dealing with a Wandering Elderly Loved One

Elder Care La Costa CA

Elder Care La Costa CAWandering is a frequent problem with elderly loved one’s who have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Your loved one might forget where she is, or suddenly not recognize her own home. It’s a frightening situation for you, but also for her and it can result in you feeling like a terrible family caregiver. Here are some tips to help prevent a wandering episode.

Disguise Doors and Windows

If your loved one is determined to make a break for it, then disguising doors and windows to look less visible can actually work. Try painting the doors the same color as the walls, for example. Or use curtains to hide windows that are large enough to leave through. Making windows and doors less visible can remove them from your loved one’s immediate list of things to try out, which can be the first step toward keeping her safe and inside the house.

Post Signs

Sometimes you can’t paint doors, though, or it’s just not possible for one reason or another to camouflage entries and exits. In those cases, posting signs can be a good way around the problem. “Stop” or “Do Not Enter” can be effective messages that your loved one recognizes and understands. For some loved ones, this might only be a temporary solution, though, especially if they see other family members using these doors with no consequences.

Escape-proof Doors When Possible

From here, the next step is to try to make it as difficult as possible for your elderly loved one to leave whenever she wants to do so. Try hiding keys to deadbolts in a safe location so that your loved one can’t open the door alone. There are also special devices that are made specifically for caretakers of Alzheimer’s patients and patients with dementia that lock doors and windows for the loved one but allow easier access for other people. Alarms on doors and windows can also help.

Plan for Escapes

The reality is that your loved one is likely to try for and to succeed with an escape at some point. You can make helping her return home much easier if you have a plan in place for this eventuality. Put together a search kit consisting of a set of documents that make a search easier. Include a physical description, a recent photograph, and information about your loved one’s medical needs. Have extra copies on hand in case you need to leave the information with people who are helping you search. Warn friends and neighbors that your loved one could wander off and make sure that your loved one wears an identification bracelet or necklace. This should include her name, your name, and a phone number where you can be reached.

It’s scary to think of your elderly loved one wandering off, so it pays to be prepared.

La Jolla Nurses Homecare can help your aging parents remain in their own homes, call 858-454-9339. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable senior care in La Costa, CA, and the surrounding communities."]” data-sheets-userformat=”[null,null,767,[null,0],[null,2,10667209],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],[null,[[null,2,0,null,null,[null,2,0]],[null,0,0,3],[null,1,0,null,1]]],2,2,null,0]”>For more information about how the caregivers at La Jolla Nurses Homecare can help your aging parents remain in their own homes, call 858-454-9339. We are a home care agency providing quality and affordable elder care in La Costa, CA, and the surrounding communities.

Brittnei Salerno

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