Alzheimer Disease: Make The Home Safe

If you're a caregiver for someone who has Alzheimer Disease

there are some things that you'll want to do to make the home safe

for them to life in. One of the goals of a caregiver is to keep your

family member, or patient, home as long as you can. There are

several things that you can do to make the home as safe as

possible:



• Improve the lighting in the home. This includes hallways,

stairways, and bathrooms. Try to have the same level of lighting

throughout since changes in light levels can be confusing for some

patients.

• Put rugs that are a different color than the floor or carpeting in

front of stairs and doors so that the patient has an easier time

identifying where they are.

• Always make sure the patient takes their medication while

you are watching. You want to make sure that they are taking it

and not missing a dose.

• Close off any areas that can be a danger to the patient. You

can use child safety latches and locks to make many areas

inaccessible, such as knife drawers in the kitchen.

• Make sure that the food in the refrigerator is fresh and not

spoiled. People with Alzheimer Disease will often eat whatever

they find regardless of the taste or condition of the food.

• Limit the use of some equipment in the home, such as the

oven/stove, toasters, and knives.

• Look for appliances that come with an automatic shut-off

device. This can prevent fires and burns.

• Have a list of phone numbers posted at every phone. This

includes phone numbers for the police, fire, doctor, poison

control, and family members.

• Check to make sure that smoke alarms are working correctly.

• Keep fire extinguishers throughout the home.

• Register with the Safe Return Program. This program helps

those people who have Alzheimer Disease make it home safely if

they wander off and get lost.



Taking care of anyone who has Alzheimer Disease requires

supervision that is sometimes constant. This means that you need

to make things as easy on yourself as you can so that you don't

spend too much time keeping your patient away from things that

can harm them. When you have a home that is full of safety

features you know that your patient is going to be safe.



This allows you to focus on other aspects of home care such as

taking care of your patient's emotions and making sure that they

still do some of the activities that they enjoy doing.