Thursday, 23 April 2020

General Tips for care givers during COVID-19

If you’re caring for an older loved one, you might be worried. This article offers guidelines for managing daily care at home and coping with anxiety during this difficult time.

General Tips for Caregivers:

Stay calm. People with dementia are very aware of non-verbal communication such as tone of voice and body language, and will often mirror it. If you are calm, your relative is more likely to be calm as well. See below for our tips on managing your own anxiety

Expect some changes. Stress, anxiety, and changes in routine can all have a negative impact on your relative’s cognition. This is usually temporary, and most people will return to, or close to, their baseline once life returns to normal.

Look out for sudden, drastic changes, though. As always, this could be a sign of pain, illness, or infection. If you see this, contact your relative’s doctor. Limit TV news. People with dementia may not remember the content of a TV show or a movie, but they’ll remember how it made them feel. Try to avoid exposure to too much panic-inducing coverage and stick with something lighter, like a cooking or travel show.

Simplify the message. If your relative asks what’s going on, try to make your explanation as simple as possible, focus on positives, and redirect to a favorite activity. A good place to start is: “there’s an illness going around, but you’re safe with me inside the house. Can you help me remember how to play that game you like?” Set a daily routine. Try to have your relative wake up, eat, and go to sleep at around the same time every day, if possible. You can also try to create a schedule to keep your relative busy and engaged throughout the day, which will improve their mood and decrease challenging behavioral symptoms. See below for an example.

If Your Person is Living in an Assisted Living or Skilled Nursing Facility: It is increasingly likely that visitors, even close family, will not be permitted to visit relatives in such facilities. The staff will continue to provide care and comfort, but you will not be able to have in-person time with the person that may be important to you. If you are alone and feeling this as yet another loss, take action. Try to go out for a walk, call family and friends, listen to your favorite music, look at scrapbooks or read a good book. If you belong to a church or synagogue, call and ask to be put on a prayer list. Many religious staff are working from home and can respond to your messages. Have family and friends mail cards and letters to them.

For people living with dementia, increased confusion is often the first symptom of any illness. If a person living with dementia shows rapidly increased confusion, contact your health care provider for advice. Unless the person is having difficulty breathing or a very high fever, it is recommended that you call your health care provider instead of going directly to an emergency room. Your doctor may be able to treat the person without a visit to the hospital.

People living with dementia may need extra and/or written reminders and support to remember important hygienic practices from one day to the next.

Consider placing signs in the bathroom and elsewhere to remind people with dementia to wash their hands with soap for 20 seconds.

Demonstrate thorough hand-washing. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol can be a quick alternative to hand-washing if the person with dementia cannot get to a sink or wash his/her hands easily.

Ask your pharmacist or doctor about filling prescriptions for a greater number of days to reduce trips to the pharmacy.

Think ahead and make alternative plans for the person with dementia should adult day care, respite, etc. be modified or cancelled in response to COVID-19.

Think ahead and make alternative plans for care management if the primary caregiver should become sick.

CREDIT: Penn Memory Center

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