Alzheimer's disease affects not only the person affected, but also those around him. Parents, children, husbands, wives, friends, all play a very important role in their daily lives by accompanying them and meeting their particular needs.

Here are 5 keys to help a sick relative to make the daily gestures.

• Meals

Eating disorders appear gradually. The patient may forget to eat at first, then lose weight or undernutrition can quickly be detected. In fact, 30% of Alzheimer's patients observe a significant weight loss. These disorders are related to the loss of memory that creates food disorganization and may further aggravate the disease.

What to do ? At first, it is necessary to increase the contributions in proteins and in energy. To avoid undernutrition, it takes on average 400 calories and / or 30g more protein per day. On the other hand, do not increase the quantity served, because it is important that the sick person can finish his plate. Simplify the layout of the cutlery but also the trips to do the shopping. If you accompany the supermarket has become too complicated for the sick person, do not hesitate to go alone.

Do not hesitate to monitor your oral hygiene as it also affects the appetite.

Weighing is still the best way to prevent weight loss.

• Dressing and hygiene of life

For help with personal hygiene, it is often advisable to call for help to the person because the loved one does not necessarily have access to the patient's privacy. And this can sometimes affect the relationship.

The moment of the toilet can sometimes frighten the patient because he feels uncomfortable.

What to do ? Expose the toilet as a moment of beauty, of care, and not as an obligation. If the sick person seems to take initiatives for the simple actions of the toilet, do not hesitate to let it. You can make it easier for him by exposing the objects in a logical order.

Same thing for dressing. Whether she has a total or partial disability to dress, the person with Alzheimer's will feel more comfortable if the clothes are put in an appropriate order (ex: T-shirt, socks, pants, shoes). For clothing choices, offer him two choices, avoiding free will because he can often put himself in a situation of failure if the reasoning does not succeed.

• Driving a car

Driving quickly becomes a burden for patients because it is an activity that requires reflexes and a sense of alertness that the disease is decreasing. In addition, there are few patients who spontaneously decide to stop driving. So be careful when traveling.

What to do ? Keep in mind the signs that will help you detect your inability to drive: Inability to recognize known locations, non-compliance with posted signs, inappropriate speed, decisions made too slowly and indecision and anger at the wheel. Then talk to the doctor, and by mutual agreement, prohibit (or not) the sick person to drive.

Attention: talk to him calmly, with understanding, because the prohibition of driving produces intense frustration in the sick person. But once the decision is made, it is not advisable to return to it.

• Outputs

When they are still possible, the outings are beneficial to people with Alzheimer's. Even if you are afraid of the risks that it may cause or the eyes of others, do not let them slow down your initiatives. It is also important for the patient to maintain a normal rhythm, both for his physical and moral well-being.

What to do ? Take him and participate with him in sports activities. In addition to relieving stress, body activity allows him to keep his physical shape and avoid losing weight. Researchers have admitted that the areas of the brain required by music are more numerous and longer preserved than those mobilized by language. Accompanying them to a concert or opera is therefore advisable.

You can also stimulate the person with Alzheimer's by going to the cinema, the theater etc. All cultural activities can only be beneficial.

The association France Alzheimer also organizes support meetings in public places. The Memory Cafés allow relatives, patients, and even the public, to meet and exchange, but also to attend medical interventions and dialogue with a psychologist. Thus, around a coffee and in a daily setting, everyone can approach the disease in a different way. In addition, a recent French study (*) shows that caffeine has a positive effect on the disease.

• Night accompaniment

At night, patients are subject to more anxiety. They can misinterpret a nighttime alarm. For example, they may think it's time to get up, start getting ready, or worry that it's not yet daylight. And it is by rising that the dangers can be manifested. Especially the darkness.

What to do ? If the person with Alzheimer's gets up, it can be hungry or thirsty. So have some cookies and water on the bedside table to prevent it from getting out of bed. She may also want to go to the bathroom. In this case, the darkness can be a source of anxiety but also of dangers because it can forget where the objects are located, to make them fall, and to be hurt with. Leave the light of the corridor or toilets lit is necessary.

Installing a motion detector system is the best solution because the light comes on automatically when the person enters a room.

Sources:
www.francealzheimer.org
(*) www.lepoint.fr/editos-du-point/anne-jeanblanc/du-cafe-to-prevent-the-alzheimer-disease-10-04-2014-1811662_57.php
sante-medecine.commentcamarche.net/faq/1085-quelle-alimentation-pour-prevenir-la-maladie-d-alzheimer
www.plan-alzheimer.gouv.fr