I'm still not sure if my mom has dementia but she started showing serious signs last week. I live with my mom and she was a tough lady before last week. I took her to the doctor and they believe she might have had a stroke and she's just feeling the after effects (brain failure). They were more concerned for her blood sugar levels than her sanity but I learned that blood sugar can effect the brain.
Anyway, as her behavior started to decline to forgetfulness and memory loss I've begin taking preventative measures. I've taken away her old cell phones and tablets to prevent random downloads. I turn off the gas main when leaving the house after the last three fire alarm scares. I've also simplified her phone though not entirely (I'm working out the kinks).
Is there anything else I may be forgetting?
Removed knobs from gas stove after she turned them on once. One was lit, the other wasn't.
As she got worse and wandered off once, while I was in the shower, I put extra locks on the doors and added alarms.
Initially I had to hide her car keys.
I have to administer her meds as much as possible.
Now I must bathe and help her dress.
And it will get worse.
If you are the one who will have to assist her, ask for a "hat" or buy one. It sits on the toilet seat. They pee in it and then you just pour it into the jar they give you.
Did they do any bloodwork on Mom? If not, she should have a work up. An MRI or Catscan will show if she had a stroke.
A few of the things I've done is... One, I installed automatic faucets. After the second time grandma overflowed the sink by sticking a rubber basin over the sink and walking away with the water running, I decided to deal with it once and for all. You don't even need any plumbing skills. There are screw on devices that replace the aerator that turn it into a automatic faucet just like at public restrooms.
Two, I installed rails all around the house for fall prevention. It's exactly like it sounds. I put rails on every wall so when the refuse to use a walker, there's always a rail at hand. It wasn't that hard to do. I did have to figure out how to make sections quick removable so that I could open up cabinets.
Three, I've rigged the kitchen to avoid burning down the house. Once again, it was grandma. She decided to make soup at 3am but forgot all about it and went back to her room. I woke up to the smoke detector. So I replaced the regular stove with an induction unit. Not only are they safer since they don't get hot, but they will detect overheat conditions and shut themselves down. You can also set up appliances to go off automatically if they detect that no one is standing there after a few minutes. So if there's no one in the kitchen they will shut themselves off.
Get her checked and keep an eye on it, incontinence is a huge factor for causing UTIs.
Last night at 11pm, the police showed up at the house. "Is everything okay? We received a hang up 911 call from this address."
There are some really good ideas to keep in mind here.
Also check your smoke alarm & co2 detector just in case - anything that you would put in place for a 2 year old is a good start - good luck
I have a book in my office that is a bit dated but dealt with home safety issues for people with dementia.
Not having read other comments thus far, will say that we had a knox box lock box installed by our fire dept on the outside of our house...only they have the key; the box holds keys to your house so in an emergency they get in faster without busting doors and windows.
That must be such a drag with the gas..would you want to consider a switch to electric so you can just pull the knobs?
Don't forget the microwave if you have one...put it on child mode.
Any risk of wandering?
The local Alzheimer's assn may have a list of safety things you can look out for.
I get grossed out and start running the vinegar through the machine to clean it and I tell her I will make her coffee for her.
Now she can’t do anything for herself and I do everything anyway but I hated when she wouldn’t totally wash out the cup, refill with water and dump it in the keurig.
Still, I know that she wanted to have some independence. So it really isn’t a reason to be upset with her. Pick battles, right? This wasn’t worth a battle.
Lock down her finances. She's vulnerable to scammers and her own bad judgement.
Invest in some 'smart home' technology to keep an eye on things when mom is home and you're not; a doorbell that alerts you when someone visits and shows you the visitor, a device that lets you do a video call with mom, smart plugs that let you log on to make sure things are on or off as they should be...
And, again, start looking for a community. The symptoms get worse.
Secure medication.
Turn off gas main.
Install elder handle on tub/shower/toilet
She is no longer acting her physical age, but a 2 year old.
Microwave - again, unless it is really ancient, they have a safety lock built in! I learned about this when told that mom "locked" her microwave and brother had to "fix" it. My new washer/dryer came with this feature as well (and I use it so the cats are not turning them on when jumping up on them!) Press the STOP/CANCEL button for about 3 seconds to lock or unlock.
Others mentioned the child safety locks - for cabinets and doors. Lock any rooms to prevent access, such as laundry rooms. I would keep all small appliances in the cabinets when not in use. Toasters and coffee makers can start fires too! You might want to consider the outlet plug covers (help prevent them putting bad items into unused outlets.)
Cameras for monitoring can be helpful - we had some to monitor outside/inside the main door and the basement area, just to keep a remote "eye" on mom (or anyone coming there!) We couldn't see everything, but she was not too bad at that point.
Once anyone gets to a certain point, such as those mentioned here, I would not be okay with leaving them unattended, even if it is just to run to the store for milk. Think 2 year old - would you leave them alone sleeping while you run a quick errand? Mom was not that bad yet, but we have no way of knowing when the next shoe will drop, so we had to make that decision to move her to a safe place before she became a hazard to herself.
Also, we have taken 100% of the financial stuff as our responsibility. She wasn't keeping track of what had already been paid for, and no longer has a good sense of what is actually needed. She was also VERY susceptible to a slick sales pitch and even to scammers. So we process all the mail, pay all the bills and check her email and other messages for signs of scammers and "buy stuff" messages.