Moderate Dementia

  1. Holi-Daze Made Happier: How to Hang Out With Someone Who Has Dementia

    Blog Post - Advice for interacting with someone who has dementia or Alzheimer's if you're apprehensive as the holidays approach.

  2. How do I tell strangers about my parent's Alzheimer's disease?

    Question - What's a good way to let strangers we encounter -- in stores, walking on the sidewalk, and elsewhere -- know that my 74-year-old mom has dementia? Sometimes I feel the need to explain her behavior.
    Expert1 Expert Answer, 5 Community Answers

  3. Help Your Parent Find the Bathroom

    Tip - If your parent with dementia can't remember where the bathroom is, draw a picture of a toilet and put it on the bathroom door.

  4. How can I keep my father, who has dementia, from losing things?

    Question - Does your parent with dementia keep losing things? If your parent loses things often, a few simple tricks will help keep track of his items.
    Expert1 Expert Answer, 2 Community Answers

  5. What to Do When Someone Shows Signs of Sundown Syndrome

    Article - Sundown Syndrome affects people with dementia and strikes around sunset. Learn how to minimize sundown syndrome agitation.

  6. How can you help calm dementia parent in nursing home?

    Question - How do you calm down someone with dementia in a nursing home? Is calming a dementia patient down even possible in an environment like a nursing home?
    Expert1 Expert Answer

  7. Is it common to have hallucinations with Alzheimer's?

    Question - Are Alzheimer's hallucinations common? My parent who has Alzheimer's has been experiencing hallucinations. Yes, hallucinations are fairly common.
    Expert2 Expert Answers, 12 Community Answers

  8. A Dark Bath Mat Makes Tub Less Scary for Some Alzheimer's Patients

    Tip - Some people with Alzheimer's or dementia have trouble with depth perception and see depressions such as the bathtub as terrifying bottomless voids. Using a dark-colored bath mat can help your parent, who will see the dark color as a distinct surface or bottom. Make sure you use a rubber no-skid mat to help prevent slipping...

  9. Limit Clothing Choices for a Parent With Dementia

    Tip - Does your parent's Alzheimer's cause her to sometimes choose inappropriate clothes -- a summer coat in the middle of a snowstorm, or a wild color combination that's atypical of her style? Minimize choices by removing all nonseasonal or seldom-worn items from drawers and closets. Explain, if asked, that missing items are "in storage" or "at the cleaners...

  10. Make Floors Less Confusing to the Alzheimer's Brain

    Tip - Take a closer look at your parent's floors if she has dementia. Any irregularities in floor appearance can be perceived as a change in elevation or depth, making her gait unsteady. So consider installing tight-weave, wall-to-wall carpeting in a room that now has varying textures or is half-carpet and half-wood, for example, and eliminate throw rugs...

  11. Is it common for Alzheimer's patients to have good and bad days with their memory?

    Question - If a parent with early Alzheimer's or dementia has both good and bad days, it can mean that some situations are more confusing or stressful.
    Expert1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

  12. Baby Soaps and No-Rinse Soaps Make Bathing Easier

    Tip - If your parent resists bathing, consider using baby soaps and shampoos. They rinse off easier and faster than regular soaps, won't sting the eyes, and are gentle on sensitive, dry skin, which can be part of aging. If this is still too much water contact -- some people with Alzheimer's or dementia are...