Dementia is a type of brain disease where the ability to think and remember things starts fading. People who develop dementia forget their close family members and other near and dear ones. They do not remember their favorite food and dishes and at times even to swallow their food. Losing the social awareness is most common among people who have dementia. They no longer know how to react to people talking to them and often behave differently in some situations. They also forget some skills like driving, filling water in a glass, forgetting some words and basic body functions. Hence, there is a strong need of taking special care of dementia patients. Things can turn damaging to the patient if proper and adequate care is not given.

For people who are going to provide care to dementia patients or those who are already caregiver to dementia need to do their homework on this illness and know what to expect while they are helping the patients. It is true that dementia patients may die sooner if they are not taken care of adequately and if the people who are caring for them are stressed out or feel they are obligated to look after them. The environment needed has to be friendly and stress free, hence there are caregiver services available where people are trained to take care of dementia patients the right way.

If you are about to start with your caregiving service to a dementia patient, here are few tips you may run through to be well prepared for when you begin:

Be positive in your head and while approaching the patient: Just showing that you are positive and happy is not enough while caregiving. You must genuinely feel positive and happy about giving the service, so it comes out naturally. Compassion is something you cannot force and something that’s important for caregivers to have. This is hence the top dementia tip for caregivers.

Make the patient acknowledge your presence: Let the patient know and acknowledge that you are present there to care for him or her. Another important dementia tip for caregivers is that they make the patients realize that they aren’t alone or with a stranger. The more oblivious they are, the more difficult it will be for the caregivers to help them. For this, you can choose a place to have less number of things, so the patient is not distracted and is bound to notice the caregiver.

Prepare yourself for unexpected behavior: Be prepared for all kinds of reactions and behavior from the patient. If you have done your study on dementia well, then you will know that you must be prepared for everything from the patient and be calm and patient with them.

It is important to be clear in your action: Be slow and clear while interacting with them. One of the important dementia tips for caregivers is that they are extremely clear and articulative about what they are trying to say to the patient. Since dementia patients are slow, you have to be slow when you are communicating with them, so they are able to register what you are trying to tell them.

There are several other dementia tips for caregivers you may want to be well versed with to have a smooth experience when you start with your service.