Managing Alzheimer’s Symptoms: Eating Problems

Ensuring someone with Alzheimer’s eats and drinks enough can be a challenge for any caregiver. These tips may help:

• Encourage exercise – Exercise can make a person feel hungrier: The hungrier the person feels, the more likely he or she is to eat.
• Monitor medications – Some medications interfere with appetite. Others may cause dry mouth, so make sure that the patient gets enough liquids with food. Discuss eating problems with your loved one’s doctor to see if medication needs to change.
• Make mealtimes pleasing to the patient – Add flowers to the table or play soothing music. Make the patient’s favorite food and serve it on dishes that contrast highly with food colors. Reduce distractions in the eating area. Also, avoid foods that are too hot or too cold, as these may be unpleasant to the patient.
• Feed the patient like a baby – Try giving the patient little spoonfuls, and sing short, funny rhymes to get him or her to eat. Get the person to smile so that the mouth opens, and then slip a little food in. Provide finger foods and children’s sipper cups, as the person may have trouble using utensils and normal cups.
• Monitor chewing and swallowing – Chewing and swallowing difficulties can develop as Alzheimer's progresses. If necessary, give instructions on when to chew and when to swallow. Keep the person upright for 30 minutes after eating to avoid choking.
• Transition into providing only puréed or soft foods – In the later stages of Alzheimer's, the person can no longer swallow food and may choke on food. Swallowing problems can lead to pneumonia because the patient may inhale food or liquid into the lungs. Begin a liquids-only diet when the time is right.

Don't forget to take care of yourself!

Caregiving for a loved one with dementia can be extremely demanding and stressful. Each day can bring more challenges and higher levels of anxiety, often without any signs of appreciation from the person you're taking care of. Unfortunately, when you’re stressed and fatigued, you lose the ability to remain calm and soothing, and the patient will inevitably pick up on those negative feelings. This in turn can add to the patient’s own levels of stress and increase their problem behavior.

Taking care of yourself and getting help and support is essential for both your well-being and your loved one’s quality of life. Respite care can provide a break to help you relieve stress and restore energy. Make use of any services available to you and don't be afraid of asking for help from other family members. It can make all the difference to your success as a caregiver.

Medical Office Supplies

25% Off All Products!

Manual Prescription Pad (Large - White) Memo Pad

Manual Prescription Pads (Light Blue) Notepads

Manual Prescription Pads (Light Yellow) Notepad

Manual Prescription Pads (Light Pink) Notepad

Billing and Collection Supplies

Business Cards and Stationary

Chart Labels

Medical and Rx Pads

When Self-Feeding Becomes Impossible

If your loved one has gotten to the point where he or she can no longer feed him/herself, here are a few suggestions:

• Be sure your loved one is sitting upright.
• Alternate solids with sips of liquids.
• Make foods more liquid as you feed -- for example, add extra milk to mashed potatoes.
• Gently coach your loved one through feedings: "Okay, open your mouth . . . now close . . . now chew . . . swallow. . . ."
• Try touching your loved one's chin or cheek as a gentle way to stimulate chewing.

______________________________

Dementia Signage for the Home

Eats Too Much

Your loved one:

• Forgets having eaten (even when he just left the table minutes earlier).
• Loses the ability to register the sensation of fullness.

Here are a few suggestions you can try:

• Serve food restaurant style (brought to the table all on one plate) rather than family style (with serving dishes on the table), which invites second and third helpings.
• If the person is an all-day snacker, make the available snacks low-calorie and filling, such as popcorn, apple slices, raw vegetables with yogurt dip (make sure choking isn't a hazard).
• Provide the person with plenty of activities to engage in to distract him between meals, since overeating may fill the vacuum of not having anything to do.
• Store snacks out of sight and out of reach, so the person has to ask for them rather than help himself.
• Don't deny the person food that you're eating yourself; instead, limit portions.
• Reassess any of your own habits that might be encouraging the person with dementia to overeat (such as mindless eating while watching TV), given that he has less self-control.

_______________________________________

Dementia Signage for the Home

Doesn't Want To Eat

If your loved one with Alzheimer's is refusing to eat, here are a few suggestions you can try:

• Focus on what your loved one likes to eat rather than your idea of perfect nutrition. Changing taste buds may make foods seem particularly bland. Unless there are strong medical reasons for a specific diet, once someone reaches a certain age and is losing weight, it's usually more important that he or she eats for pleasure and gets enough calories.

• Make available a variety of reasonably healthful high-calorie choices, such as puddings, shakes, smoothies, and cereal.

• Season liberally with herbs and other flavorings to make foods more enticing.

• Avoid nagging. Making a big deal about eating only sets up a battle of wills.

• Serve micro-meals throughout the day rather than the "big three." Your loved one may not feel like eating much at a single meal.

• Mention the behavior to the doctor, especially if new, to rule out a medical cause. Ask whether nutritional supplement drinks are appropriate.

• Realize that some older adults forget to eat because of memory problems.

_______________________________________

Dementia Signage for the Home