8 Dementia Products That Can Make Life Easier
Life can become increasingly difficult for people living with dementia, especially as their degenerative condition progresses. Symptoms can begin to interfere with everyday life, creating new obstacles that may limit mobility and independence. Finding ways to overcome these challenges is essential for boosting the quality of life of people with dementia and helping them remain at home for longer.
New technologies and simple yet effective upgrades around the home can make a significant difference for an individual experiencing symptoms. Today, we’ll explore the top eight dementia products available to help individuals with dementia experience a better quality of life.
How Does Dementia Affect Daily Life?
Dementia is a term used to describe physical and mental symptoms that affect memory, coordination, problem-solving, speech, and behaviour. As these symptoms progress, a person living with dementia may find it more difficult to continue with their daily routine, communicate with others and navigate their new cognitive difficulties.
People living with dementia often forget appointments, when to take medication, where items are around the home, to hydrate themselves, to eat on time, and may even forget to carry out personal care tasks. As a result, the cognitive effects of dementia can begin to have an impact on physical health, leading to a rapid deterioration in health status.
As the condition progresses, individuals living with dementia may also experience distress, and wakefulness and need increased levels of support, reassurance, and in some cases monitoring overnight. In the later stages, those with dementia will require help throughout the day, from feeding to toileting, as well as support with mobility and behavioural symptoms.
Products That Can Make Living with Dementia Easier
Finding useful products that can make life with dementia easier can be tricky, but many individuals and their loved ones agree that it’s well worth the effort! Below, we’ve noted eight products that can give individuals a sense of independence while offering loved ones better peace of mind:
1. Dementia-Friendly Jigsaw Puzzles
Dementia-friendly jigsaw puzzles are made with additional visual memory prompts and user-friendly puzzle pieces. Puzzling can be both soothing and engaging for the brain, while being a fun activity to pass the time. They can also be broken down and reused multiple times.
There are countless jigsaw puzzles on the market. You could choose a picturesque and calming landscape picture or something your loved one enjoys, such as dogs, gardening, or the seaside. The picture you choose can help encourage conversation and allow carers and family to join in, too.
2. Coloured Dinner Plate
Tackling the challenge of ensuring your loved one with dementia eats enough during the day can be frustrating as their condition progresses. Simply changing their dinner plate to a brightly coloured piece of tableware can help, as many people with dementia experience vision and perception issues and can find it difficult to recognise food on white plates.
Take your loved one shopping to find some fun-coloured new tableware, including plates, bowls, cups and cutlery. This gives you something to do together and allows you to enjoy each other’s company out of the house.
3. Emergency Response Alarm
Investing in a wearable personal emergency alarm gives loved ones peace of mind that the individual with dementia has a way of alerting emergency services should they need assistance. Disorientation and confusion are common symptoms of dementia, and they gradually worsen as the condition progresses, making using a phone difficult. An easy-to-use device that alerts emergency services is a must-have product.
Select a wristband that monitors movement and provides reassurance to your loved one about its function, allowing them to call for help at any time. Some wristbands have GPS to monitor the user’s location, which is particularly useful for those with a tendency to wander. Once the wearer presses the button for help, a 24-hour monitoring service will reassure them through the clip, alerting emergency contacts, relatives or carers regarding their location.
4. LCD Wall Features
LCD wall features can help recreate beloved scenes for people with dementia. Not only can these evoke powerful and comforting memories for your loved one and their families, but they can also help start up conversations. Certain scenes offer calm and soothing visual stimulation that can help spark memories and enhance the quality of life for individuals who are unable to leave their homes as often due to the progression of their condition.
5. Digital Radio
A simplified, one-button digital radio has been specially designed for people with dementia and older adults who find technology challenging to use. Individuals living with dementia can become confused by technology and overly complicated settings on gadgets, so a digital radio with minimal buttons and settings allows them to listen to their favourite music without getting overwhelmed.
6. Light Therapy Box
Emitting cool white light, a light therapy box can help people living with dementia manage symptoms such as sleep disturbances. If your loved one is experiencing episodes of wakefulness at night and sleeping through the day to overcompensate, this product can be a valuable aid in helping them get their routine back on track. Better night time sleep can improve physical and emotional well-being, as well as slow down symptoms.
7. Medical Alert Watch
A medical alert watch is an alarm bracelet designed to ensure the wearer’s safety at all times. It provides an emergency alert system with a built-in 24/7 assist button, a heart rate monitor, and mobile phone and GPS tracking, offering individuals and their families peace of mind. If your loved one lives alone, this is a valuable investment that brings peace of mind to everyone involved.
8. Object Locator
A digital tracker designed for small household items is a handy tool for many people experiencing the early stages of dementia. A common symptom of dementia is forgetting where everyday essential items have been left, such as keys, purses, glasses and handbags. By attaching a tracker to these objects, your loved one can track their locations by pressing the remote control handset to sound an alarm.
How Dementia Care from Country Cousins Can Help
Finding the right dementia care becomes all the more important as your loved one’s condition progresses. Without the support of a home carer, they may feel isolated and become frustrated as they face the symptoms of dementia alone. Country Cousins dementia care can help offer bespoke, compassionate care to your loved one and the rest of your family.
Our dementia care services are tailored specifically to your individual needs, and can include:
- Assistance with bathing, dressing, grooming and toileting
- Mobility assistance
- Meal preparation and help with feeding
- Encouraging good levels of hydration
- Transportation to and from appointments and social activities
- Facilitating hobbies and interests
- Light housekeeping
- Managing behavioural difficulties
- Companionship and social stimulation
Talk to Our Team Today
As the UK’s longest-serving introductory live-in care agency, we have been providing compassionate live-in care to those who need it since 1959 – all from the comfort of their own homes.
Give us a call today on 01293 224 706. Our experienced team is on hand to help from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 6 pm. Alternatively, contact us through our online enquiry form.
