What is Dementia

How to make your home dementia-friendly:

Living with dementia can be challenging for both the individual and for family and friends. However, with many people now opting for live-in care over care homes, it is essential to understand how a home can be adapted to make it a dementia-friendly environment.

In the early stages, you may not need to make any changes to the home environment. However, it is best to understand how dementia can progress and the changes that will need to be put in place to ensure a safe environment. It is also not advisable to make major changes to the home overnight, as this can be confusing. There are simple things you can do to help someone with dementia continue living at home.

Before these changes can be implemented, it’s vital to understand dementia and its long-lasting effects. Many people think that dementia is just memory loss; this is untrue. There are many different symptoms that can have a huge impact on a person’s daily life.

What is dementia?

Dementia is an overall term for a group of symptoms associated with memory loss and other thinking skills that are severe enough to impact a person’s everyday life. The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s. Others include vascular dementia (stroke-related dementia), dementia from Parkinson’s disease, and dementia with Lewy bodies, to name but a few. Each is different; however, they all have similar symptoms and effects.

Changes in moods

If you know someone living with dementia, it may become apparent that they begin to suffer drastic mood changes, which can include paranoia, enhanced fear, and confusion. You may also notice that a loved one becomes uninterested in conversation or appears distant.

These changes may be challenging to understand and can upset loved ones. Still, it is essential to remember that their behaviour is due to brain damage.

The drastic changes in behaviour usually occur when the person feels confused or distressed, so it is essential to take a step back and think about what may be causing these moods. It could be anything from:

Sense of Frustration

It may be more challenging for people with dementia to communicate what they need, so it is essential to be patient, listen, and try to understand what the problem may be.

Loss of reasoning & judgement

Poor judgment can be one of the earliest signs of dementia, and it can sometimes precede memory loss. Poor judgment is the inability to make appropriate and rational decisions, which can affect many different aspects of someone’s life, including:

Danger recognition

People with dementia may be unable to assess the danger of certain situations. For example, they may walk out onto a busy road during rush hour because they have lost the ability to determine the traffic levels.

Finances

People with dementia may lose the concept of money, and you might notice them start to give money away or spend it spontaneously or repeatedly. For example, they might continue to provide money to salespeople even though there is barely enough food.

Dressing

Another way someone can lose their sense of judgment is by losing the ability to dress appropriately. For example, it may be snowing outside, yet someone with dementia could wear shorts and sandals.

Driving

Driving requires us to use multiple parts of our brain. As someone’s condition with dementia deteriorates, they may have to stop driving as it can become increasingly dangerous. For example, they may struggle to judge the distance of a car in front of them, leading to an accident.

If you notice a loved one making increasingly dangerous or spontaneous decisions, it’s important to seek help immediately and book an appointment with your GP.

Loss of physical ability

As dementia progresses through the stages, you’ll notice that a person’s physical ability becomes increasingly impaired. In the early stages, however, a person’s physical ability will be more or less intact.

However, as dementia progresses into the middle stages, the brain forgets how to make the muscles work, which means difficulty walking and difficulty feeding oneself. The physical ability to hold urine and bowel movements will also decline.
In the late stages of dementia, walking and range of motion become severely limited. It is at this point that someone living with dementia will need a full-time carer.

How to Create a Dementia-Friendly Environment

Lighting

People with dementia need to be able to see their environment to make better sense of their situation. Good lighting can mean the difference between a person becoming confused and scared and someone remaining comfortable and relaxed.

There are things you can do to improve lighting, reduce the risk of falls and accidents, and helping to make your home dementia-friendly:

• Reduce glare, shadows, and reflections
• Have as much natural light as possible
• Keep curtains open during the day
• Get rid of any unnecessary nets and blinds
• If there are hedges/trees overshadowing windows, cut back to allow in sunlight
• Switches for lights must be easily accessible and easy to use, especially on stairs and in the toilet
• Automatic light sensors are a good addition
• Value natural daylight as much as possible

Dementia is more common among the elderly. Therefore, it is important to get regular eye tests to detect any concerns. As we age, our vision becomes more impaired, contrast is reduced, and some colours become harder to see. People living with dementia need to see as clearly as they can so that they can make sense of their surroundings.

Flooring

It is essential to look at someone’s flooring who is living with dementia and decide whether or not it would be helpful to change. The last thing you want is for someone to have a nasty trip or fall due to confusion.

• Avoid rugs and mats. People with dementia may confuse them for objects they need to step over, leading to trips and falls.
  Instead, use flooring in a colour that contrasts with the walls, as this will help the person gain a better perspective of the size of the room and where things are
• Use a matt-finish floor. Shiny floors may look wet and confuse people, making them wary about walking across them.
• Avoid colours that can be mistaken for other things, such as green, which could be mistaken for grass, and blue, which could be mistaken for water.

Furniture

Choosing dementia-friendly furniture will also be something you have to consider. A person with dementia needs to be able to see the furniture. Hence, avoiding stripes and strong patterns is a necessity. Instead, choose something that:

• It is a bright and contrasting colour
• It has curved, not sharp, edges for safety
• It is easy to wipe down for hygiene purposes
• It has viewing panels so a person can identify what is stored inside
• Robust, stable, and comfortable seating

In the earlier stages of dementia, obtaining new furniture may not be a priority. Still, as one’s movement and mobility decline, you must consider making the person’s life as comfortable as possible. The first few items you should consider are an armchair and a new bed. These two pieces of furniture can optimise a person’s comfort. Many dementia-friendly options include recliner chairs, riser recliner chairs, chairs with manual seat risers, and community profiling beds.

Kitchen

If a loved one is living with dementia, this is one of the first and foremost rooms you should consider changing. A kitchen is a place where most accidents could occur due to sharp objects, hot appliances, and clutter.

• Put pictures or signs on cupboards and drawers, so you know what is inside them
• Use plates, cups, and tablecloths that contrast with food
• Keep food in clear containers to enable you to see what is inside
• Keep your kitchen organised and uncluttered
• Invest in a cooker guard, as this reduces all risks of fire and the misuse of a hob or cooker
• For a dementia-friendly kitchen, make sure smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms are working
• Invest in a tray trolly to avoid any unnecessary trips and falls with hot/wet food items
• Mark the hot and cold taps clearly to prevent scalds and burns
• Keep cleaning products locked in a separate cupboard to avoid confusion
• Purchase dementia-friendly gadgets such as chopping boards to prevent accidents
• Safety is the most critical factor when designing a dementia-friendly kitchen; these pointers will help you in the right direction.

Bathroom

As an individual’s dementia deteriorates someone’s condition worsens, their bowel and bladder strength will also deteriorate. You must help an individual stay as independent as possible, for as long as possible, and making sure your bathroom is dementia-friendly is one way to do this. You will need to take precautions so that the bathroom is safe, easy to use, and avoid falls at all times.

• Put a picture/sign on the door labelling the toilet or bathroom.
• Consider removing the toilet lid if it makes it easier to identify.
• Avoid modern designs such as push-button flushes.
• Use towels and toilet rolls in contrasting colours to the walls.
• Get rid of any items that are not required.
• Due to the increased danger of scalding, thermostatic taps and showers are a good investment.
• Add rails and fixtures around the bathrooms in case of a fall.
• Make sure there are no towel radiators, as it could be confusing for a rail to grab onto if a person should fall.
• Install a level-access shower with non-slip flooring to reduce the risk of slips and falls.
• Include a shower seat.
• Try to avoid shower curtains in case somebody pulls them down as they fall. If it is a necessity, make sure you purchase a breathable fabric.
• A dementia-friendly shower will shut down after 30 minutes of continuous run time

A bathroom is the most likely place where a person may encounter a slip or fall. Still, these precautions will help ensure maximum safety and independence. A wet room is the safest bathroom for someone with dementia.

Organisation

Organisation plays a vital part in creating a dementia-friendly home environment. The more organised things are, the less likely a person will become confused and disoriented.

• Remove any clutter (including unnecessary cushions and throws)
• Think about having a basket or a tray for paperwork
• Keep background noise to a minimum, i.e., TV or radio noise
• Ensure cupboards and shelves are kept tidy
• If necessary, consider getting extra cupboards and shelves

Technology

Technology can play a massive role in creating a dementia-friendly environment. It can help keep someone safe, help with memory problems, help with socialising and assist with safer walking.

Using ‘assistive technology’ can help a person stay independent longer. If you care for someone with dementia, it can also help support you. Assisted technology is equipment that can help accommodate your everyday life. This can include smart home systems, mobility scooters, or even handy apps for smartphones and tablets that help with reminders.

However, due to the severity of dementia, it is essential that a person only use technology if they are comfortable doing so. You don’t want somebody with dementia to become confused with a device they are not familiar with, as this can cause panic. Suppose you know someone in the early stages of dementia. In that case, it’s best to introduce technology as early as possible as it means you can get used to it and ultimately be able to use it for longer.

There is much technology available to help a person living with dementia; below are a few valuable contacts where you can find technology, such as large-screen digital calendars stating the date, time, and even season, to contacts that can ensure your home is safe:

Age UK 0800 169 65 65 www.ageuk.org.uk/about-us/local-partners
Local council www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council
Fire and rescue service 01827 302300 
If you have any concerns about Alzheimer’s disease or any other form of dementia, visit alzheimers.org.uk or call the Alzheimer’s Society National Dementia Helpline on 0300 222 1122.