Find out when you should hire professional caregivers for your loved one
Wondering when you should hire in-home care for a person who is suffering from dementia? Caring for a loved one with dementia is an extremely challenging task, and it becomes more demanding as the condition worsens over time. Seeing someone you love slowly losing their memory and cognitive abilities can be one of the hardest parts of the process.
However, a dementia diagnosis does not have to mean the end. People with dementia can live relatively healthy lives at home with the right care and help. However, since they need more support than the average healthy individual, it is better to hire professional caregivers for the job.
When should someone with dementia go into home care?
Let’s start with the diagnosis! Before discussing the right time for someone with dementia to go into home care, we should cover the basics. Having an understanding of the condition is absolutely necessary to know whether or not your loved one might be suffering from it and whether or not they need additional support such as home care. Of course, there is no alternative to consulting a doctor and getting a proper diagnosis, but knowing a few things beforehand should help you get a grasp of the situation more easily.
For starters, you should know that dementia is not a specific disease. Rather, it is a group of conditions that affect the brain and brain functions. The condition impairs at least two main brain functions such as memory and judgment. There is a range of symptoms associated with dementia, the most common of which are:
- Memory loss
- Confusion
- Difficulty concentrating
- Mood swings
- Trouble finding the right words
- Difficulty with various everyday tasks that require organizing
- Repeating questions or words
These symptoms tend to be mild at the start, and they get progressively worse with time. It may even take family members and loved ones sometime before they start noticing these symptoms. A number of diseases can cause dementia, but Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common causes.
In the UK, one in 14 people who are over the age of 65 has dementia. Research also shows that the country has over 850,000 people with dementia. While that is a relatively large number, dementia is not a normal part of aging. That is why it is critical to consult a general practitioner as soon as you notice any symptoms.
Can a person with dementia live at home?
When an elderly member of the family gets diagnosed with this condition, other family members and friends take the responsibility of caring for them. However, dementia care is anything but easy. It is a full-time job that requires tremendous effort and a lot of patience. Not everyone can dedicate themselves entirely to it, and that is why in-home care options are ideal for them.
It is entirely possible to care for a dementia patient at home, but you should know that they would need more and more support as the condition deteriorates. Ultimately, you would need to hire professional caregivers to help your loved one with simple daily tasks such as eating, washing up, staying active, and more. You can hire caregivers from dementia care services to provide your loved ones with the care and support they need.
When should someone with dementia hire home care?
Knowing when to hire home care services for a dementia patient can be tricky. If dementia is caught pretty early on, the chances are that the symptoms are not too severe. In the initial stages, a person may be able to carry on with their daily lives with minor confusion or forgetfulness here and there. However, as the condition progresses, the symptoms get worse.
In the advanced stages of dementia, a person’s personality may change, they may have severe memory loss along with difficulty communicating, handling complex tasks, coordinating motor functions, and more. Eventually, they lose the ability to function on their own and need round-the-clock care.
The best way to answer this question is that you should look for certain signs. If your loved one displays the following signs, it is time to consult an in-home care service:
Memory problems
Although memory problems are common in old age, a person with dementia experiences it differently. In this case, memory loss is more severe and impacts the various aspects of daily life. They may forget recent events or conversations, misplace things, get lost in familiar surroundings, and forget how to carry out simple tasks.
Inability to perform everyday tasks
If your loved one is slowly losing the strength or the ability to perform everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning, eating, or taking care of themselves, you need to hire a caregiver to help them with all that. When suffering from dementia, a person may not be able to tell you exactly what they need or how you can help them. That is why it is important to keep an eye on their day-to-day to determine whether or not they need help.
Accidents
Dementia patients are at a high risk of getting into major or minor accidents around the house. Due to the loss of coordination and motor skills, your loved one may become clumsy and get hurt even when doing the simplest of tasks. It is necessary to get them help before something serious happens.
If your elderly parent or a loved one, who is suffering from dementia, starts to show these symptoms, you should immediately contact a dementia care agency.
If you are looking for a reliable and reputed care agency in London that will help you find the best caregivers for your loved one, you should check out Total Caring. We can help you find professional caregivers for a range of needs. Our services are available in the South London and Surrey area. To know more about our services, give us a call today!
