Wandering can occur in care recipients cr with dementia the following are tips for keeping the cr comfortable and healthy during wandering phases

Try: Weigh weekly to make sure the cr is not losing too much weight loss of five pounds in six weeks for example is of concern provide comfortable clothing such as jogging suits and tennis shoes it the cr wanders a great deal try to get him her to rest for a half hour every few hours with feet raised to prevent swelling give frequent drinks of water or juice to prevent dehydration the cr with dementia will often forget to drink or not recognize thirst dehydration can be dangerous and may increase confusion check feet often for swelling or blisters elevate feet when swelling occurs provide opportunities for exercise particularly when person are waiting for a meal or activity exercise might also include signing rhythmic movements dancing etc with help from families develop a social medical history that includes

Materials: n/a

Categories: Behavior Challenging, Emotional Psychological, Medical Physical

Information: On the person’s style or coping with change and stress patterns of physical exercise and lifetime habits both at work and at home this information may be helpful in determining whether the wandering is related to previous lifestyles develop areas indoors and outdoors where people can explore and wander independently reduce amount of noise and confusion in the environment for example change of shifts loud speakers noises from housekeeping activity delivery of food or supplies are all potentially stressful situations reinforce where bathrooms and other public areas are by having rooms clearly labeled painted bright colors or marked with lights or awnings try a yellow strip of tape across doors to prevent wanderers from entering the strip is easy to get through in case of an emergency allows patients to keep their doors open to see and hear what is happening inside or outside their room have a plan of action in place in case someone wanders away from facility information

References: Mace n & rabins p 1999 the 36-hour day baltimore the johns hopkins university press robinson a spencer b & white l 1992 understanding difficult behaviors ypsilanti mi eastern michigan university

Keywords: Dementia wandering

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

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