Creating an Alzheimer's Friendly Home: A Step-by-Step Guide to Dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Safety, & Care

by Gilbert Guide. The following article, Creating an Alzheimer's Friendly Home: A Step-by-Step Guide to Dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Safety, & Care, originally appeared on Gilbert Guide and is re-printed courtesy of Gilbert Guide, Inc. Copyright © 2009, Gilbert Guide, Inc.

Creating an Alzheimer's friendly home is similar to child-proofing a home; your best bet is to keep your solutions simple, re-evaluate the situation as needed and make sure that the changes you've made to the home really do work for you and can provide optimal Alzheimer's care solutions. Just as some children will definitely find scissors or other sharp objects to play with, others will stay calm and play dolls all day; each individual with Alzheimer's disease will have individual tics that can—and probably will—change over time. Keep an eye on what objects a person naturally goes toward and make sure to evaluate the safety of the home on an ongoing basis. If you are caring for someone who wanders or re-traces their steps, try to figure out which areas of the home a dementia patient feels most comfortable in and scrutinize it for any potential dangers. Remember that Alzheimer's is a progressive disease and, as such, constant re-evaluation of the home will need to occur.

Getting Started: Tips on Alzheimer's Care Strategies

Not all Alzheimer's care and safety tips will apply for each individual with Alzheimer's disease: use your best judgment.

Remove clutter. If you or your loved one have hoarding issues, then learn how to manage them in our Help for Hoarders section.
Determine what can be used for locked storage space. Clean out closets and throw out unnecessary objects. As a person's dementia and Alzheimer's disease symptoms become more pronounced, you will have to put away more items to keep the home safe—make the space for these items before you need it.
Limit options. Keep things simple. Do not place multiple options into cabinets or drawers; instead put few items in each.
Don't move furnishings around unless completely necessary. Keeping the layout of a home similar will help keep the interior looking familiar.
Make commonly used items accessible. Put a few commonly used items on open shelves or on countertops or tables so that they are easily visible.
Take a look. Mirrors in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease may encourage good grooming habits, but in later stages may be disconcerting as individuals might not recognize themselves. Covering or removing mirrors may be necessary for some.
Double-check the dècor. Remove or re-upholster furniture that has busy patterns as they can be mistaken by individuals with dementia or Alzheimer's disease for insects or other objects. Patterned wallpaper should be replaced for the same reason.
Make light soothing. Lighting throughout the home should be clear, even and warm.
Create visual cues. Vision naturally deteriorates for most people as they age—and Alzheimer's disease can exacerbate issues with differentiating items from each other. Brighter color contrasts often help to make it clearer what an object is. For example, brightly colored bowls may be a better signal that it is food inside the bowl itself.
Keep important documents safe. Place important documents or bills in a safe place where they can easily be found should you need them for reference.
Decide which areas are off-limits. If wandering is an issue, get locks on doors leading to the garage or garden if it has access to areas outside the property. Additionally, you can make the garage a locked storage space so that dangerous items can be stored there.

Creating an Alzheimer's Friendly Bedroom

by Gilbert Guide. The following article, Creating an Alzheimer's Friendly Bedroom, originally appeared on Gilbert Guide and is re-printed courtesy of Gilbert Guide, Inc. Copyright © 2009, Gilbert Guide, Inc.

The bedroom should be a place that is calming and comfortable as this will help to reduce any agitation. Additionally, it should be set up with Alzheimer's safety precautions in mind so as to prevent falls and also make it easy to access the bathroom at night.

Keep the bedroom soothing and simple. Remove any excess clutter, but try to keep familiar objects and photos of family members as decorations.
Prevent falls. For some, bed rails work as a good fall prevention technique; however, others may view the bars as an obstacle they must climb over, rendering them very dangerous. Placing soft pillows or cushions around the bed may work best for people who do not deal well with bed rails.
Listen in. For round-the-clock Alzheimer's care supervision, consider getting a monitoring device for the bedroom so that you or the other caregivers can hear if they awake during the night. This is especially important if either wandering or fall prevention is an issue to consider.
Secure the doors. Door locks should be removed. You may also want to put an alarm on the door should wandering during the evening while the caregiver sleeps be an issue.
Late-night bathroom trips. You will need to play around with the lighting to see what works best in terms of Alzheimer's care. Some people can sleep with soft lighting within the room whereas others may need lights on in hallways or along the trajectory to the bathroom in order to find it.
Create warmth. For many older adults, feeling cold can cause disturbances in sleep. Electric blankets should not be used for those who are incontinent. Instead find bedding that will keep your loved one warm throughout the night or set up heaters to go on at specific times, but that are not in reach of the individual with Alzheimer's disease.

Creating an Alzheimer's Friendly Kitchen

by Gilbert Guide. The following article, Creating an Alzheimer's Friendly Kitchen, originally appeared on Gilbert Guide and is re-printed courtesy of Gilbert Guide, Inc. Copyright © 2009, Gilbert Guide, Inc.

The kitchen can be a comforting place for many as it is often a place of pleasant memories and familiar smells and sounds. If an individual with Alzheimer's disease can no longer prepare meals on his or her own, prepping food so that he or she can put ingredients together or mix sauces can be a rewarding Alzheimer's care solution and activity. You may also want to consider purchasing kitchen utensils such as knives and scissors designed for children so that the patient can also participate in cutting without hurting him or herself. Otherwise spoons or melon ballers can be used for softer food items. The following are a few points to think about when making a kitchen safe for a person with Alzheimer's disease:

Check your appliances. Remove all electrical appliances from counters that pose a threat. If it is in the early stages of dementia, you may be able to replace them with automatic shut-off appliances. Also, microwave ovens can be used by those with a high level of cognition, but should have easy step-by-step instructions next to them along with an explanation of what cannot be placed inside. In advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, most likely all appliances will need to be removed entirely in order to adhere to recognized Alzheimer's safety measures.
Decide about the control knobs. Depending on the individual, marking the off position in red for control knobs may be sufficient; however, in moderate or later stages, some individuals can only be kept safe by removing control knobs from the stove, oven and inside the refrigerator.
Keep the fridge closed. If closing the refrigerator is an issue, make the front at a higher angle so that gravity causes the door to swing closed. Keep non-food items out of the refrigerator.
Organize the cabinets and drawers. Keep cabinet and drawer contents simple with just a few options. Some caregivers find that removing cabinet covers can make it easier for dementia or Alzheimer's care patients to find what they need. Placing pictures of what is inside cabinets or drawers can also help. A picture of cutlery placed onto a drawer will signal what can be found inside it.
Disconnect the garbage disposal. Occasionally, individuals with Alzheimer's disease may shove inappropriate things down the garbage disposal so you should consider whether to disconnect it as part of your Alzheimer's safety precautions.

Creating an Alzheimer's Friendly Bathroom

by Gilbert Guide. The following article, Creating an Alzheimer's Friendly Bathroom, originally appeared on Gilbert Guide and is re-printed courtesy of Gilbert Guide, Inc. Copyright © 2009, Gilbert Guide, Inc.

Bathing can become difficult as the Alzheimer's disease progresses. Most people feel quite vulnerable when naked. Additionally, if a bathroom isn't especially warm or welcoming, then bathing can feel quite clinical. Remember, for people with Alzheimer's disease, a bathroom can contain a great deal of noise, because running water or a flushing toilet occurs in a small space that doesn't allow the sound to spread out. Additionally, a person with Alzheimer's disease can become quite uncomfortable or cold, but not be able to express it—using ceiling heat lamps on timers can help keep the bathroom a warm and comforting room. Creating a soothing environment should reduce combativeness during bathing or toileting.

Reduce risks. Removing locks on doors is just one Alzheimer's safety precaution. Make sure shower doors are tempered glass. Plate glass, if shattered, comes out into jagged shards.
Create color cues. Color bowl water for men for better aim.
Reduce the risk of falling. Install grab bars with an anti-slip finish. Be aware that chrome can get slippery. Install no-slip appliqués or mats to showers and baths along with anti-scalding devices on sinks and showers.
Warm up the room. Purchase soft towels and possibly non-slip carpeting to cozy up the room.