Supporting Some Of The Challenges That Dementia Can Bring

Dementia can be a very challenging disease, not just for the person living with it, but for loved ones and friends as well.

Dementia can be a very challenging disease, not just for the person living with it, but for loved ones and friends as well. These challenges can be difficult to adjust to and emotionally hard for people close to the person with the disease.

We support a number of customers living with dementia, so are familiar with the effect it can have on families. The support we provide helps relieve this and our Care Assistants often become a big part of the supportive team.

Just a couple of the challenges that can be experienced include:

Personality changes

"Personality and mood often change over time with dementia. This may lead to a person becoming easily angered, depressed, become withdrawn or saying impolite things.

Particularly for a person living alone, isolation and loneliness can be a challenge as they are lively to worsen the symptoms of the disease.

Therefore, frequent social contact is important for those with dementia who live alone."

Bathing and dressing

"It is quite common for older people to find bathing and dressing a challenge due to limited mobility, however dementia can bring with it some additional struggles.

It may be that the person living with dementia is unaware of the weather so would dress inappropriately, whilst others may not remember to wash themselves or leave our certain steps such as cleaning teeth.

Whilst this is common, for families of those living with dementia it can often mean a care home is considered.

This however, it not necessary because the support we provide enables people to remain at home and adapts as their needs change."

Eating a regular and balanced diet

"Memory problems affect every aspect of life and for someone living with dementia this includes their diet.

It may be that they forget to eat, struggle to prepare their own meals or follow a simple recipe. It may also be that the person struggles with selecting the right foods in the supermarket.

This is where our Care Assistants often provide a significant amount of support. They visit throughout the day to make sure meals are not only prepared, but also eaten."

Boredom

"Just because a person has dementia, does not mean that they are a different person. They still want to enjoy life!

Often it can be all too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget the value of spending time with their loved one.

It is important to not only talk and share jokes with a loved one who has dementia, but also get out and about where possible as this will help alleviate the symptoms."


We are specialists at supporting those living with dementia and very experienced at helping alleviate some of the challenges that the disease can bring.

As well as visiting to support with the practical day-to-day tasks such as washing, dressing, medication, meals and household chores our team of Care Assistants provide companionship and simply be a friend.

We also use an app called Remind Me Care, which helps aid reminiscence, which is very helpful in bringing back positive memories and happy feelings from bygone days when the more recent past can be difficult to recall.

We often become a vital part of the support network for our customers who are living with dementia and because of the caring way with which we do so, regularly receive calls from those requiring support.

We know that things like a regular face, patience, understanding a person's background and being in close contact with the family are extremely important so always make sure that this forms part of the support we provide.

If you would like to find out more about the support we provide for those living with dementia, or arrange support for a loved one please contact us on 01474 560 160 or email gravesham@bluebirdcare.co.uk and we will be happy to assist.