Memory Study

At some stage of the Alzheimer’s disease serious consideration will have to be given to what is known as care management; taking care of the person affected by Alzheimer’s. Here we take a look at the various options open to you the sufferer, a loved one or friend of the affected.

As Alzheimer’s progresses the individual affected by the disease will come to rely on the help and support of others to perform everyday tasks such as getting dressed, using the toilet and eating for example. Those affected may also require greater medical care too.

If you are suffering with the disease you will need to make provisions for this, planning with your family or friends along with your health care specialist in advance of the eventual progression of Alzheimer’s.

There are a few options open to the affected individual or their family and friends, such as:

Alzheimer’s Care Option 1: Looking after your loved one or friend yourself

Many family members or friends of someone affected by Alzheimer’s quite legitimately feel they are the right person or persons to take care of the individual concerned and make it their responsibility to be the caregivers, feeling it is their duty to do so.

This is quite a popular option preferred by many as the costs of professional care can be quite a financial burden and furthermore many feel at unease, loved ones and the actual sufferer, just handing over the task of caring to what they consider to be “outsiders”.

However this option doesn’t come without it’s problems – for many have to give up their jobs or put aside their own lives in order to provide the sufficient care needed of the Alzheimer’s sufferer.

During the first stages of the disease home help in the shape of popping in to the home of the affected to check up on the individual or to perform minor tasks like bringing home some grocery or cook a meal is often all that is required.

But as the disease advances the ability to take care of oneself becomes greatly reduced and most families move their loved one into their own homes or in extreme cases, move in with the Alzheimer’s sufferer to give the individual “round the clock” care.

In such cases special modifications to the home may be required and modifying one’s own lifestyle to fit in with the needs of the affected person will also have to be made. This can create a great burden on the caregiver and in some Alzheimer’s cases the demands required to take sufficient care of the affected simply can’t be met without professional assistance in some form or another.

This is where home help can be quite a savior. There are many forms of assisted help such as respite care, professionals who can come in and give you time off so to speak by taking the weight of burden off your own shoulders like sharing tasks for example. Other forms can come in the shape of daytime care where a caregiver comes in during the day while you are at work to care for your loved one or friend.

Alzheimer’s Care Option 2: Residential care

At some stage of the disease residential care may have to be considered as the demands placed on the home carer prove too demanding to fulfill or the sufferer themselves need more structured and better equipped care.

These days there are many purpose-built communities specifically designed for Alzheimer’s sufferers with apartments designed to make living conditions easier for the affected all within close proximity of professional assistance, like a warden or a caretaker if you like. Other forms of residential care can come in the form of nursing or retirement homes.

Alzheimer’s Care Option 3: Hospice care

As the disease enters it’s final or more severe stages where death is a real possibility and the need for greater medical care or assistance is required, then a care hospice is arguably the finest option open to the Alzheimer’s sufferer as this option can provide “round the clock” professional medical care, nursing assistance and also provide the sufferer with the right environment to live in as they enter the final passage of life.

Alzheimer’s Care Conclusion

As ever, all options must be seriously considered and a great deal of planning, financial or otherwise, is often required as taking care of the affected is the most effective form of Alzheimer’s treatment along with actual medical treatment.

If you are considering care assistance here are some questions to ask:

• Are you or the person affected fully capable of caring for yourself or themselves without assistance?
• Do you or the person affected have another disability, handicap or illness that restricts your or their ability to take full care of yourself or themselves?
• Can you afford professional care? Are you covered for professional care? How with the costs of Alzheimer’s care be covered?