The holidays are a wonderful and festive time of year. They are a time when many homes, stores, and even neighborhoods get transformed into dazzling displays of light and decorations. While fanciful and beautiful to most, these changes can bring about confusion and overstimulation to your elderly loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Hire dementia care providers to watch over your loved one during the holidays.
What brings joy to many can bring distress to your loved one so here are some tips to help keep your loved one with dementia safe during the holiday season.
Avoid too many new lights. Some people may love to string twinkling lights all around the home to add that festive flair. While they might be beautiful, too many lights, especially ones that twinkle on and off, can be disorientating for your loved one. Consider using lights that don’t twinkle on the tree or in the yard to help reduce the confusion those sparkly lights may create.
Think twice about food-based décor. If you use candy canes to decorate the tree or gingerbread houses for the table centerpiece, remember that your loved one may decide to try to eat them and potentially choke on them. Having a bowl of hard candy may seem like a great way to invite guests, but may cause your loved one to overindulge. Instead, when guests or dementia care providers visit and you wish to welcome them with treats, provide a gift bag of the treats that they can bring home with them.
Don’t overstimulate with too many guests. Everyone wants to visit for the holidays but for your loved one, it can become very stressful to have a lot of new people in the home. If you are having a large family gathering, consider having it somewhere other than your home, allowing only immediate family and your Alzheimer’s care provider to be in your home as needed.
Watch the clutter. Piles of presents under the tree, garland strewn on the railing handles, and light cords running across the floorboards can all produce an environment that might make your loved one stumble and fall more easily. As you put up new decorations, carefully look around to make sure you haven’t added any tripping hazards in the process, and avoid covering needed handrails with décor that reduces the amount of grip your loved one can put on it.
Keep it simple. While a long concert or a performance of Nutcracker Ballet may be a tradition, consider shorter outings with your loved one during this season. A nice drive around the neighborhood to look at lights and listen to his favorite Christmas carols can be just as nice as some of those longer Christmas events.
Finally, if there are events you want to attend but your loved one might not be able to attend safely, having a dementia care provider that he trusts stay with him so you can attend the event will help you receive some respite and enjoy the holidays. Taking care of your holiday needs will help you take care of him even better.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Dementia Care Services in Emmaus PA please contact the caring staff at Extended Family Care Allentown today. Call 610-432-6766
Extended Family Care Allentown is a Trusted Home Care Agency in Allentown, Pennsylvania including Bethlehem, Easton, Emmaus, Macungie, Whitehall, Schnecksville, Catasauqua, Northampton, and Nazareth.
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