Alzheimer’s Care: Helping Your Loved One with Personal Care Needs
If you are providing care for an elderly loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, they might need extra help with some or all of their daily care needs. Many of the routine personal care tasks that your loved one has spent a lifetime doing for themselves (and probably their children and grandchildren when they were younger) may slowly become more and more difficult for them to perform independently. And while there are personal care tasks that are more about looking good and others that are more about being healthy, both are important for your loved one’s physical and mental well-being.
Some tasks will require just a bit of help from you and your Alzheimer’s care provider, while others may need you or your Alzheimer’s care provider to take over completely. It won’t be uncommon for some personal care tasks to rotate between needing you or your Alzheimer’s care provider to simply assist in or take over. Be prepared to help in whatever way your loved one needs while still recognizing when they can do it themselves if you just give them a little time and a few nudges.
Understanding the Importance of Personal Care
Let’s look at some personal care tasks and explore some tips to help getting ready for the day or getting ready for bed a pleasant and successful experience each day.
Hair and Skin Care
Allow your loved one the ability to perform these daily tasks whenever they are able. It can help if you start them out by handing them their comb and saying, “Now it’s time to comb your hair.” You might even need to gently lead their hand to their head but then allow them to take over.
Other tasks, such as shaving, may need you to fully assist to keep them safe during the process. To help your loved one stay calm, talk to them through each step while being upbeat and positive, which can make the process much smoother.
Oral Care
Like combing their hair, if your loved one can brush their teeth, let them complete this task, even if it isn’t perfect. You can help by putting the toothpaste on the brush and reminding them to rinse. You should also consider helping with flossing if your loved one still has all of their teeth. Be gentle, patient, and if your loved one refuses, accept the refusal and try again the next day.
Bathing
If your loved one needs help bathing, you may find having someone else to assist is needed. An Alzheimer’s care provider can help ensure your loved one can bathe as needed in a way that is safe, respectful, and a positive experience for them. It helps if you can make bathing occur at a routine time of day or day of the week so that your loved one can feel comfortable with the routine. And remember, you don’t have to get every inch scrubbed and cleaned. If your loved one gets halfway through a bath and wants to be done, be ready to finish up and help them out.
Providing Alzheimer’s care for your loved one that respects their capabilities will help your loved one feel better about getting ready each day.
