If you or a loved one is suffering from dementia, is care becoming more and more difficult? It may be time to consider assisted living.

The idea of assisted living may seem frightening. It means lesjs time with family and trusting someone else for care. How can you know if it’s the right thing to do?

Allow us to ease your concerns. Continue reading to get a better understanding of when memory care assisted living is necessary.

Understanding Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

It’s common for most people to experience some memory loss as they get older. But dementia and Alzheimer’s are a more severe loss of cognitive function that can erase memories linked to identity and necessary daily tasks.

Dementia is becoming more and more common in aging people. It is believed to be caused by stress, vitamin deficiencies, and brain, liver, kidney or thyroid disorders.

Dementia is not simply a disease but a collective group of symptoms that hinder memory and cognitive function. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia.

Warning Signs of Dementia

Like any degenerative disease, the key to treating dementia is an early diagnosis. Make an appointment with your doctor immediately if you or a loved one displays a consistent pattern of these behaviors:

• Difficulty communicating
• Difficulty with simple or familiar tasks
• Misplacing items in strange locations
• Mood swings, agitation
• Overfixation on certain details
• Declining level of self-care and hygiene
• Poor judgment
• Frequent, aimless wandering or getting lost

If you’ve noticed these behaviors frequently, call your doctor now. It’s best to be safe.

What to Do If You or a Loved One Is Suffering from Dementia

To repeat: first go to the doctor. The doctor will know best which treatment options to start with.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s and dementia. But there are treatments to keep it from getting worse, which is why early detection is so important. Common treatments include medication, live-in caregivers or assisted living communities with memory care.

Medications that act on neurotransmitters in the brain can relieve symptoms and improve cognitive function. But because they cannot stop the spread of the disease, they help only for a limited amount of time.

For early stages of dementia with mild symptoms, live-in care is a practical option. But more severe cases of dementia require 24-hour care to keep the patient from endangering his or herself. This may become a bigger commitment than family members or a single live-in professional can safely handle.

Memory care assisted living communities have the staff and home comforts dementia patients need. And it is all on hand, 24 hours a day.

When to Consider Memory Care Assisted Living

In this sensitive situation, you want to make the right choice for your family. To help, the Alzheimer’s Association provides us this list to know when memory care assisted living is the appropriate choice.

• Has the person with dementia become unsafe in the home?
• Is the health of the patient or caregiver at risk?
• Is the person’s required care beyond the caregiver’s abilities?
• Is the caregiver becoming stressed, irritable and impatient?
• Is the caregiver neglecting work, family, and self?
• Would the care structure and social aspects of an assisted living community benefit the patient?

Take some time to think over and discuss these questions with your family to decide if memory care assisted living can help.

Tour Maple Heights

If you and your family answered yes to those questions, please schedule your free tour of our brand new assisted living facilities in Washington DC.

Take a look at our floor plans and preview our amenities here. Call us to schedule your tour today.