Safe Caregiving and Home Health Equipment - 5 Items That Can Make a Difference

These five pieces of home health equipment can make a big difference for people with mobility challenges and for their caregivers. Of course, before using them consult with your doctor to see if they are appropriate for the condition.

1. LIGHTER WEIGHT WHEELCHAIRS - Lighter than the 40 or 50 pound heavy wheelchairs, these are easier for a caregiver to lift into and out of a car, helping to avoid caregiver injuries.

Search the internet and you'll see there are wheelchairs weighing closer to 30 pounds or even less. There are ultralight weight folding wheelchairs with removable backs and legs. When you take them apart it only takes a few seconds and is easier to lift. They are also easier to push either by a caregiver or by self-propulsion.

They are often more expensive, but used wheelchairs or demos can be found.

2. ROLLATOR WALKERS WITH SEATS - Taking a walk around the neighborhood or into a store can be tiring and a walker with a seat provides an emergency resting place. The rollator type walkers have handbreaks and wheels on all four legs. To fold them up, you pull up the seat, and then push or pull a button on each side to fold the legs in.

3. SHOWER CHAIRS WITH LEGS ADJUSTED TO A COMFORTABLE HEIGHT - Getting up from a low chair is one of the difficulties faced by people with mobility challenges. Assisting with a manual lift can be difficult for a caregiver too. The plastic shower chairs have adjustable legs. If you raise the chair to a height that is easier for the person to rise from this can make it less of a struggle to get up. It will be safer for the caregiver as well if there is less lifting.

4. RAISED TOILET SEATS WITH SIDERAILS - Again, rising from a low area, such as a regular commode, can be difficult for people who are frail, who have arthritis in the knees, or who have difficulties with their hips or backs. Caregivers can help save themselves from lifting injuries if the person they assist has higher seating and can get up more easily.

5. BEDSIDE COMMODE - Visits to the restroom in the middle of the night, especially, can be difficult or risky when people are sleepy and might feel wobbly on their feet. Avoiding a fall is always important.

Many people feel the need to visit the commode several times a night. A bedside commode makes this safer by reducing fall risk. Also, it can be safer for the caregiver who is doing a transfer assist or ambulation assist. Again, the commode legs can be adjusted so the person does not have to struggle to rise from a low position.

AlzheimersWeekly.com Caregiver Boards - "How to Dance in the Rain"

At AlzheimersWeekly.com forum moderator Ann writes on 12-23-07, "Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain." She relates a forwarded story about a man who kept going to the nursing home every morning to visit his wife, even though she didn't know who he was anymore. The point was that HE knew who SHE was, and true love never dies.

No longer do Alzheimers caregivers need to try to cope alone, now that they can connect online with others in the same situation. Recently a forum member at AlzheimersWeekly.com discussed coping with an alzheimers sufferer who keeps asking the same questions, saying "I am always calm and gently answer but my insides are churning and I wonder how many days, weeks, months , years I can continue this." The forum members offered their suggestions and plenty of good ideas.

AlzheimersWeekly.com offers "support and insight for the Autumn of life" and includes news articles, groups, forums, and a wealth of resources. The caregiver boards even offer a section for "Poems and Musings."

Team Style Solitaire for Alzheimer's and Dementia

I play a type of team style Solitaire with people who have early or mid-level dementia which pits two of us, or more, as a team against the cards. At one of our "Card Parties" a question like "Can you find a red queen or a black nine" helps a person with Alzlheimer's start to look for the needed cards. Then, "Hurray! we've got it!". People with Alzheimer's or dementia often respond well to images and visuals, and the cards don't need to be remembered, just found or matched.

Having an enthusiastic caregiver can help get the game rolling. The caregiver can offer suggestions, if needed, about what cards to look for next.

Finding ways to pass the time and provide stimulating activity can be a challenge for a caregiver assisting a senior with Alzheimer's or Dementia. If the senior lives alone at home there may be family caregivers or paid caregivers 24 hours a day. Adding pleasant, relaxing, but mentally stimulating activities can make the day a better one for both the caregiver and the senior.

The studies showing the positive effects of playing cards or board games for people with Alzheimer's or dementia are common knowledge. Studies of comparing the use of mental challenges and mental exercises versus mostly watching television shows that games and puzzles are the winner by far. Mostly watching television has been connected in many studies with losing mental skills. Television is passive, card games, board games, and puzzles are active.

If you are playing Solitaire, Go Fish, or other card games that a person with early or mid-Alzheimer's can share with you, there are also extra large playing cards for people with low vision. If arthritis has made handling the cards difficult the caregiver can turn and move the cards.

Sitting in a comfortable chair with arms is often a favorite place for frail seniors, and a TV table can be placed in front, plus a chair for the caregiver. Dining tables also provide the right height but the chairs might not have arms or be comfortable enough for a long session.

A real "card party" means snacks, beverages, and perhaps soft background music. If a senior with Alzheimer's or Dementia has lost interest in many activities, the caregiver can try starting a game and "asking for some help" finding the cards. Sometimes the elderly person will watch for awhile and then tentatively begin to join in. Just watching and cheering someone else on is enjoyed by some people.

Games of cards like Concentration are easier than Solitaire and may be suitable for people in more advanced Alzheimer's or Dementia. In Concentration each player turns over two cards, and if the cards match the player gets another turn. You can buy Concentration with various pictures, or make your own cards from scratch and use themes that mean something special or relate to someone's interests.