The Dementia Caregiver's Toolbox

Dementia Caregiver's Depression May Lead To Hospitalization

2009-07-08T16:02:37-05:00

A new study published in the Journal of Genral Internal Medicine and partially supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, has found that 24% of caregivers of those with Alzheimer's disease will either visit an emergency room or be admitted to a hospital related to depression.

Dementia Outdoors

2009-06-27T13:50:39-05:00

Unless you are a hermit, you probably spend some part of your day outside the place you live. Even if it is just going back and forth to work, you pass through the outdoors on your way to somewhere else. It is NORMAL for humans to spend time enjoying the benefits of the outdoors. Sometimes dementia caregivers find that the outdoors, even a yard attached to a house, can become an anxiety provoking situation when they care for someone with dementia. Finding a way to balance safety with the obvious pluses of an outdoor experience is the key.

Dementia Book Review: Buffalo Lockjaw

2009-06-07T14:17:29-05:00

We don't usually think of dementia as a secondary topic for a novel but Buffalo Lockjaw by Greg Ames provides an exception. A first novel for Mr. Ames, published in April 2009 by Hyperion, tells the story of James Fitzroy returning to his hometown of Buffalo, NY during a chilling winter. Waiting for James were all the local people who stayed behind but most importantly his parents: his mother, has taken a turn for the worse in her dementia and his father who is coping with her illness and the fact that she is in a nursing home.

Alzheimer's disease: New Eye Tests May Speed Diagnosis

2009-05-17T08:52:52-05:00

Up to now, early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or any of the dementias has been challenging. Other than expensive PET (Proton Emission Testing) scans, there hasn't much to offer in the way of early testing. That may now change, with the information we heard about from the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston: they have discovered two possible eye tests that may help with detection of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Lee Goldstein, from the Department of Psychiatry and Surgery at the hospital states, "We found the Alzheimer's disease process that goes on in the brain also occurs in the lens of the eye".

Dementia Goes Green?

2009-04-22T04:13:00-05:00

In honor of Earth day today, I started thinking about being green and whether it even applies to dementia caregiving. Here is what I found.... Since person-centered care (involving all the unique aspects of a person in planning their care) is the way to go in dementia caregiving, I realized that this method is very green, organic or non-wasteful.

Dementia & PET Scans: 5 Facts

2009-04-21T10:10:45-05:00

Today we have a guest post from Kat Sanders from the MRI Tech Health Blog. She gives us some valuable info on PET scans and how they may be helpful in dementia. Read on..... PET (positron emission tomography) scans are becoming increasingly useful in helping researchers study the onset of dementia. These scans use the nuclear medicine imaging technique to produce three dimensional images of functional processes in the human body. If you’re looking for the connection between PET scans and dementia, here are five facts based on studies conducted in different parts of the world:

Dementia Book Review: I'm Still Here

2009-04-09T06:28:00-05:00

I'm still enjoying the recent group of books that have come out lately about the dementia or Alzheimer's experience. I am slowly getting to all of them. I want to recommend one of the new books by John Zeisel, PhD called, I'm Still Here: A Breakthrough Approach To Understanding Someone Living With Alzheimer's.

Dementia Care: Using The Past To Help In The Present

2009-04-06T18:27:20-05:00

Knowing a person's past and all the details about them is a great strategy for helping a person with dementia cope with the present moment. Using this valuable information, a dementia caregiver can assist the person with dementia to spend quality time that has meaning.....to them. An easy way to do this is to make "reminiscence boxes".

Dementia Down Under - Dementia Resources From Queensland

2009-03-26T12:32:10-05:00

We are all finding answers together to the dementia caregiving challenges. I received a recent email from a colleague in Queensland Australia about the Dementia Behavior Management Advisory Service (DBMAS) that they have created to help dementia caregivers. Here is what she had to say.....

Dementia Care Meets Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) - Part 3: Mind/Body Medicine

2009-03-06T00:13:00-05:00

Using CAM or Complementary & Alternative Medicine in dementia care can broaden the range of tools we have at our disposal as caregivers to comfort, calm and allow the person with dementia more control over their situation and trying the techniques may help us to raise their self-esteem in the process. So far, we have defined CAM therapies and given reasons on why they may be a good match to use in persons with dementia. Our purpose today is to talk about one of the 4 Domains of Knowledge within Complementary & Alternative Medicine: the group of practices called "Mind/Body Medicine".