On-site treatment of common behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease
Psycho-behavioral symptoms, cognitive function, and decline in activities of daily living are the main clinical manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease. During the control of the new coronavirus epidemic, protective measures such as restrictions on going out and wearing masks have blocked the regular social activities of Alzheimer’s patients and their families, disrupted their rhythm of life, and easily aggravated their mental and behavioral symptoms. But for many Alzheimer’s patients, the reason for the changes in mental behavior is not important, what is important is how to successfully distract the elderly, do useful or favorite activities, so that the elderly quickly forget their fear or anxiety The reason to eliminate those bad feelings. At the same time, pay attention to observe whether there are newly added drugs, and pay attention to the adverse reactions of the drugs; pay attention to whether there are symptoms such as pain, constipation, and urinary incontinence. The following are several common behavioral abnormalities and suggestions for coping.
Agitation and attack
The elderly are emotionally excited, agitated, extremely excited, and obviously restless. In severe cases, they will have aggressive and impulsive behaviors. Some are stubborn, difficult to get along with, refuse to cooperate, and don’t accept help; they don’t like neatness and trimming; they hate caregivers, oppose bathing, change clothes, and resist treatment and nursing. The doctor recommends:
(1) Analyze the specific reasons for the agitation, know what may irritate the elderly, and help solve them in time. If someone or something makes the old man unhappy, stay away from this person or this thing. For example, if the old man refuses to take a bath because he refuses to be naked, he might as well let him wear clothes. The feeling of discomfort will make him agree to take off.
(2) Ensure that the elderly are comfortable, and prepare glasses and hearing aids for them. Try to let the elderly adhere to the daily routine of activities, work and rest on time, engage in interesting activities in the room, try to sing together, read newspapers, read photo albums and tell past stories, and engage in activities related to their experiences or hobbies to achieve relaxation purpose.
(3) When the elderly have impulsive behavior, if the situation permits, try physical contact, shake hands, hug, massage, and maintain eye contact; patiently comfort, do not blame or express disapproval when the elderly do something wrong, and respect their ideas; Speak slowly and clearly. Don’t shout loudly, don’t use fingers, scolding or deceiving the elderly, so as not to make the elderly feel that you dislike him and increase their resistance.
Irritability and emotional instability
The elderly lack patience, often get angry for no reason, get angry easily, become impatient or change their emotions quickly. In the mild cases, quarrels may occur, and in the severe cases, destructive and injuring behavior may occur, and the temperament and personality become different from the past. The doctor recommends:
(1) Caring for the elderly in life, communicate more and obtain the cooperation of the elderly; be gentle, kind, polite, caring about his suffering, consider him everywhere, solve the difficulties he encounters, and establish a good relationship of trust.
(2) Maintain a good mood and take the elderly to participate in favorite activities. For example: let the elderly listen and sing familiar and favorite relaxing music; accompany the elderly to read, write, play the piano, draw, and puzzle. According to the situation, the difficulty of the task is continuously increased, and the activity content is flexibly changed according to the needs of the elderly to attract the attention of the elderly.
(3) The room furnishings are simple and safe, take away sharps, glassware, heavy objects, etc., to prevent self-injury and injury, and avoid staying in a noisy and hot environment for too long.
(4) When the old man is emotional, he must be safe, understand and comfort him, not contradict him with words, listen patiently, and help him recall happy things. If you can’t calm him down, leave room for the elderly within the safe range. Try to meet the reasonable requirements of the elderly, and do not use coaxing methods.
(5) Try to find the reasons that may trigger the patient’s emotional changes, and try to avoid similar things from happening.
anxiety
The elderly feel nervous, lost and insecure for no obvious reason. It is manifested as: poor sleep, complete dependence on the responder, and restlessness once separated; avoiding public places, seeing strangers rubbing hands constantly, or even shaking; often feel nervous or worry about bad things about small things Happened; walking around aimlessly, doing repetitive things, unable to stay quietly; crying, getting angry for no reason, and even refusing to eat and treat. The doctor recommends:
(1) The environment is quiet and tidy, warm and comfortable. Eliminate interference as much as possible, turn off noisy sound sources such as TVs, and provide adequate lighting.
(2) Listen and accompany patiently, do not leave the sight of the elderly, and if allowed, give the elderly a hug and touch. Respect and care for the elderly, encourage them to talk about their psychological feelings, and help solve problems in time. For example: Anxiety is because you can’t find things. At this time, you can help the elderly organize together and put the things they need within reach of the elderly.
(3) Distract your attention and lead the topic to another thing that interests the elderly or surprises them. Take them for a walk, eat their favorite snacks, play some relaxing music, and do a relaxing exercise.
Abnormal motor behavior
Inappropriate behavior of the elderly, manifested as: repeated pacing, repeating the same thing, entering other people’s rooms, ruining drawers; like hiding things, stuffing food in clothes, quilts, pillows, and nothing in the room or corridor The purpose is to walk around, even trying to get out of the door; wear clothes randomly, put multiple clothes together, wear only one sock, or put multiple socks on one foot, or even wear them on the hands. The doctor recommends:
(1) Countermeasures for searching and hiding things: respect the behavior of the elderly, have a simple and safe home environment, and provide simple things for them to search when necessary. Lock the closet, reduce the hiding place, protect valuable items and dangerous items (keys, important documents, etc.), find the “collections” that may cause danger in time, pick up the debris in the passage, and throw it away Spoiled garbage and food.
(2) Countermeasures for wandering behavior: Provide a safe environment to prevent accidents; add a lock to the room if necessary; bring a bracelet for the elderly, write or embroider contact information on the clothes to avoid loss; inform others ( Such as community security) the situation of the elderly is cause for concern.
(3) Countermeasures for disorderly dressing behavior: Put the clothes that need to be changed or added in a conspicuous place in order; put away the changed clothes in time. If you have a particular preference for a certain piece of clothing, you may need to prepare a few more pieces for change. Distract its attention.
(4) Treat abnormal behaviors of the elderly with patience and gentleness. Speak slowly and calmly. Don’t urge or correct it too much when it is safe. Put forward conditions or give reasons for the elderly to be willing to cooperate. Sometimes well-intentioned deceptions and lies can divert attention in time.
Depression
The symptoms are: sluggish expression, irritable mood, fatigue, loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, etc. The doctor recommends:
(1) Listen patiently.
According to the psychological characteristics of the elderly, use methods such as comfort, encouragement, and induction to enhance communication with the elderly, establish a good relationship of trust, and understand the source of depression. When communicating with the elderly, stay at the same height, avoid condescending, listen patiently to the patient’s narration, and solve the difficulties he encounters.
(2) Maintain regular daily activities.
Guide the elderly to miss the good times in the past, yearn for a positive life, and accompany them to participate in appropriate sports, such as reading books and newspapers, raising pets, serving flowers and plants, and making favorite foods.
(3) Strengthen nursing care at night to prevent suicide.
Pleasure
The patient shows satisfaction without a clear reason, easy to be nostalgic, self-satisfied, more words, but unable to talk in depth; content is frivolous and monotonous; facial expressions give people a feeling of over-pleasure, accompanied by more small movements; purposeless , Such as pulling quilt corners, folding newspapers, etc. The doctor recommends: Respect the patient, avoid using stimulating words such as “stupid” and “stupid”, and guide the elderly to continue their favorite activities, such as singing, playing chess, reading newspapers, and playing Tai Chi. Avoid tasting.
indifferent
The patient’s behavior is withdrawn, lonely, and avoids interacting with others; life is lazy, indifferent and lacking in interest in surrounding things; facial expressions are dull and lack of inner experience. The doctor recommends:
(1) Keep the indoor environment well ventilated, with suitable light, and place items that the elderly likes around, speak some caring language to the elderly, and establish a trusting relationship.
(2) Encourage the elderly to communicate more with others, maintain a relaxed and happy mood; do what they can.
