6 Tips for Caring for Someone with Dementia

Seek training if you’re caring for someone with dementia. It’s not obvious what to do and a difficult task. Even the most well-meaning caregivers make mistakes.

Some 15 million Americans — devoted spouses, children, relatives, and friends — provide unpaid care for someone with dementia, providing 80 percent of all the care in the home. The demand can feel grueling. About 40 percent of caregivers report that their health has declined under the strain.

Training can make the job less stressful. But only half of the people who give unpaid care ever get advice or tips from experts.

You might think that you know your mother (or wife, father, or husband) better than anyone else and can figure out her needs as you go along. The best practices aren’t obvious, however, even to doctors and nurses, notes Zaldy Tan, MD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Health System Memory and Aging Program.

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Here are some expert tips if you are caring for a dementia patient.

Let her eat cookies

Many caregivers keep a loved one on a low-fat or low-calorie diet. That seems to make sense, since type 2 diabetes, which is tied to extra pounds, is associated with dementia. Caregivers tend to think a diet with treats will aggravate the condition.

Because people with dementia typically lose interest in food,  however, Tan and others recommend doing what works so a dementia patient eats and doesn’t lose too much weight.

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