Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s

home or why visitors are not coming to see them.

“People with Alzheimer’s often suffer short-term memory loss. Even though it might be tiring for you, you have to explain things to them over and over. For example, why you can’t see them if you contract COVID-19.”

To minimise the person’s confusion, Du Toit advises calling them to keep in touch.

If someone in a household tests positive for COVID-19, someone else should look aftertheAlzheimer’spatient. Family members need to be firm to ensure that the patient does not come into contact with an infected person.

If an Alzheimer’s patient requires COVID-19 isolation,

Du Toit advises that they are placed in a calm and soothing room while they recover. “If a person with dementia requires isolation, create a special space for them. Adjust the lighting, play soothing music and ask the caregiver to communicate with them in simple language.”

Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia that affects 70 percent of all dementia sufferers. It is commonly found in people over the age of 60. Du Toit says: “Dementia is a collective name for conditions in which progressive degeneration of the brain affects memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion.”

Alzheimer’s symptoms include confusion, getting lost and sometimes not being able to perform tasks such as dressing oneself.

Families looking after a personwithAlzheimer’sshould identify and utilise support systems, such as nearby public health facilities, private care facilities or their closest Alzheimer’s South Africa office.