Safety Precautions

Our Dementia Care Team Strives to Ensure the Safety of Your Loved One

It is important that people with memory-impairing illnesses, such as dementia, feel safe and secure in their environment. In-home caregivers can create this stability and comfort by doing a few simple things in advance or on a daily basis.

Since people with dementia often have the desire to wander—both inside and outside.

Many of these safety tips are designed to keep the person from tripping and falling as well as from leaving the house undetected:

• Remove any furniture that the person might trip over, including footstools, magazine racks, and coffee tables. However, once these changes have been made, make it a point to not rearrange furniture as it might cause confusion.
• Place a hidden key somewhere outside as people with dementia can misplace their own keys and inadvertently lock out an in-home caregiver.
• Place a gate at the top and bottom of staircases and make sure it is not so short that it can tripped over. Stairs can be very dangerous for people with dementia, particularly the entrance and exit, so consider adding some sort of color contrast to the top or bottom step with paint or color strips.
• Place locks out of the normal line of vision on doors—either higher or lower than usual.
• Outdoor areas should be fenced in and bodies of water should be fenced off.

In addition to these physical home care resources, we are also aware that sometimes just talking can help a person with dementia. Topics that evoke feelings of safety—a mother, a home—can be reassuring.

Contact Homewatch CareGivers with any questions you may have about our dementia care tips.