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Assisting a Senior Living Alone with Dementia in Miami-Dade
Posted by Scott Cantin in Dementia | 0 comments

Caring for a senior with dementia is not easy. It requires patience, compassion, empathy, and mental preparedness. If you have noticed specific changes in your senior loved one living alone, you may want to hire a highly qualified caregiver from Advancare to help monitor the condition and prepare for the future.
Our compassionate and caring caregivers provide senior home care services, such as light housekeeping, medication management, errand running, and bill paying. This post will cover everything you need to know to care for a senior living alone with dementia.
Understanding Dementia in Seniors
Dementia is a common condition caused by progressive loss of mental function due to certain diseases that affect the brain, such as Alzheimer’s disease. While dementia mainly affects seniors, it is not a normal aging condition, meaning it doesn’t affect everyone. The mental loss function may worsen over time, leading to memory loss, loss of reasoning, judgment, personality, behavioral changes, physical decline, and death.
Dementia is Different in Each Person
Dementia manifests itself differently in every person due to certain factors such as age, health condition, medication, state of physical health, and other environmental factors. Dementia is also common in people living alone, mainly due to loneliness and self-isolation. A dementia diagnosis doesn’t always mean that the person will immediately become incapable of caring for themselves.
The best thing you can do to help is to assist the person in remaining in familiar surroundings or their homes for as long as possible. This helps keep their mental state in check as you focus on their memory, concentration, and other brain functions. The idea is to slow down the progression of cognitive function loss and minimize symptoms.
Things the Person Living Alone May Do or Forget To Do
It’s essential to understand that some people may not have the same symptoms as others. For some, the early symptoms may show during the last stages, and some may never show at all. Here are some things you can expect a person living alone to do or forget to do.
- Forget to eat or take their medication
- Forget to bathe or change clothes
- Lack of awareness of potential hazards in the house, such as fire
- Forget to care for or feed pets
- Forget where they keep items
- They may have unrealistic, confusing ideas that can get them into trouble with family, neighbors, or police.
Ways a Caregiver Helps Seniors With Dementia
When a person keeps forgetting about these things, consider getting a caregiver to help them with the regular running of the home, such as light housekeeping and meal preparation, to avoid accidents that could injure the senior. A caregiver can also ensure that they take their medication and meals on time, boosting their health.
You can work with caregivers to give feedback about your loved one’s progress and develop ways to help manage the condition. Ideally, you want to ensure the home is safe, well-lit, and warm. Remove any hazards; faulty kitchen appliances, unsteady furniture, and loose carpets.
You can also get them independent aids to help them move safely from one place to another and stand or sit in the toilet and bathroom. Also, work with friends, family, neighbors, and others who know the senior to help keep an eye on the person.
Get in Touch for Assisted Living Dementia Care in Miami- Dade
At Advancare, we understand the needs of a person with dementia. That’s why we hire caregivers to work with you to ensure your senior loved one is happy, healthy, and comfortable. Contact us to learn more about dementia care in seniors.
Tags: Senior Living Alone with Dementia