Preparing for “Spooky Season”
Written By: Katie Fournier, LPN, CDP, Owner & Co-founder of Ember Holistic Care LLC
Given that it is the season of Halloween, I thought, what better time of year to talk about something as spooky as the flu season! What often feels more horrifying than the viruses themselves is how to care for someone who is going through it with a dementia diagnosis. We often see and hear of declines associated with events such as this. We often hear that the person no longer understands infection control etiquette, becomes withdrawn, and over all is described as not themselves.
So what can you do to combat this? Although nothing is perfect and nothing is guaranteed, there is a list I’ve compiled of interventions you can take as the caregiver to help your loved one combat illness, stop the spread, and halt the decline associated with this event.
Stop it dead in its tracks!
Masks are not only for Halloween this year. Prepare for an outing to a germ filled area i.e. grocery store or shopping mall by bringing a mask for your vulnerable loved one to halt spread.
Hand Hygiene: Remind your loved one to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer often. They won’t remember to do it on their own, so it’s our job to remind them! If your loved one cannot hold onto their own hand sanitizer because of safety concerns, then keep it on your person and remember to offer it to them as needed.
Sanitation Wipes: If your loved one likes to push the shopping cart, then you can wipe the handle prior to use. Most stores provide these wipes now at the entrance of the store, but it is always smart to keep some with you. Their walkers, canes, and wheelchairs come into contact with germs all throughout the day! Commonly used devices, such as phones, have an increased risk for coming into contact with germ and spreading them amongst one another.
Keeping their Home Clean: Best practice in their home would be frequent sanitization, offering masks to visitors, asking visitors to stay in certain areas of your loved one’s space to minimize germs, and asking those who are symptomatic to stay home or call instead.
Already sick? Here are steps to take to keep some normalcy:
If able, keep consistency in schedule/routines i.e. meals, care, and activities. Those with Dementia thrive on routine.
Have an activity “basket” or an organized container with activities ready to go. If you are not able to partake in normal daily activities, or leave the home, then this will be helpful in keeping them engaged and stimulated. Puzzles, coloring books, card games, books, magazines, and photos can all be autonomous activities in the event a virus has struck and quarantine must take place.
Keep them at their typical level of physical activity as much as possible. We want the body to rest, however, too much rest causes atrophy. When we are sick, a couple of days in bed resting will do us well. However, for someone with dementia, this can result in weakness, increased falls, or now challenges with ambulating.
Combat further confusion by engaging how you always would with your loved one. Engagement and keeping the mind active will combat those behaviors that would be exacerbated by illness. Have your temporary truth twists in place. If they had plans to go out to lunch or visit with friends, but they are just too ill to go and cannot rationalize reality, then you will need some truth twists in your back pocket for proper redirection and escalation if they become agitated. Tip, music is always a great redirection technique!
Hydration, hydration, and more hydration! This population is at risk for dehydration on a good, healthy day, nevermind throwing the flu/covid/virus into the mix. Get creative with it. Water can be flavored, minimize coffee intake or alternate between coffee and tea, implement electrolytes such as gatorade, pedialyte, or liquid IV. If your loved one is not good at drinking their beverages, then give them some popsicles!
Take a deep breath, or 5, if needed: Caring for someone with dementia can be challenging in general, adding illness to the mix just makes it more of a challenge. Remember to take care of yourself too! To better care for them you need to be well. Deep breaths, 10-15 mins of movement breaks, journaling, music, meditation, and reading can all help your mental health while in the thick of it.
Technology has been a game changer. Use it if you have it! Youtube numerous options to keep your loved one engaged, facetime a family member or friend that they may not have talked to in a bit, or stream a movie on netflix. There are plenty of ways to engage and redirect your loved one if you are quarantined in your home with them.
Education: Educating family how to help, support, and approach your loved one who is feeling ill will set up for an easier and quicker time of healing. Planning is Power.
Remember that keeping routines is key, visual calendars and schedules are always helpful, giving some independence and choice helps with behaviors, and most importantly have some fun with it if able.
Stay happy and healthy this spooky seasons!
