Dementia is a serious brain disorder that is chronic and progressive. It often affects the elderly disproportionately. Most families prefer to care for their loved ones who are fighting dementia at home. But this can be quite challenging.
However, there are Philadelphia health care services that are available to ensure that individuals with dementia get the care they need at home. Home care for dementia includes multiple services that are highlighted further in the article.
What is dementia?
Dementia is a chronic brain disease involving progressive deterioration in brain function including memory, learning, orientation, language, comprehension, and judgment. Dementia also results in a progressive decline of cognitive abilities, poor self-care, dependency, wandering, aggression, and difficult behaviors. It reduces your ability to learn, reason, retain, or recall past experiences. This disease causes significant distress to your family members, and caregivers as well.
The onset of behavioral problems can be challenging to the people around, and this is one of the main reasons to start looking for help.
What dementia home care services are available?
You may be facing challenges while caring for your loved one with dementia. There may come a time when the individual requires more care that can be provided only at home. And doing this single-handedly is not easy! During this challenging stage, it becomes necessary to provide 24-hour supervision to keep the person with dementia safe.
As the disease progresses into the late stages, round-the-clock care requirement becomes more intensive. That’s when dementia home care services play a key role. These services are offered by trained and qualified individuals who are well-versed in the challenges they need to face.
Dementia home care includes the following:
- Companion service
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- Help with supervision, recreational activities, or visiting
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- Personal care services
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- Help with routine tasks or chores like bathing, dressing, eating, using the restroom, or other personal care.
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- Homemaker services
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- Help with household chores like housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, or grocery shopping.
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- Medical care
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- Help with wound care, providing medication on time, and physical therapy if needed.
- This should be provided by a licensed health professional.
Bottom line
Dementia is a serious mental health problem that should not be ignored or taken lightly. It is essential to provide individuals fighting dementia with extra care and love. It can become difficult for the family members to provide care and support round-the-clock, especially as the disease progresses to the later stages. In-home dementia care offered by skilled and trained professionals makes life easy for the person suffering and their family members. Discuss options for these services with your physician to improve the overall quality of life of the individual suffering from it, and of their family as well.