Importance Of Companionship Care For Seniors With Dementia

By Stephen Gray


Mental ability helps human beings to coordinate their daily activities. A decline in this ability interferes with these activities as the affected person loses memory or other thinking skills. Though this can happen in anyone, it is most common with the aging and the condition is sometimes referred to as senility in reference to this. In order to maintain our health, we all need to interact with people thus the need for companionship care for seniors with dementia.

Aging comes with its challenges and sometimes this group of people will require emotional support. They need someone to talk to and engage in conversations regularly. This helps to keep them relaxed and take away their mind from episodes of self-pity. It also helps to avoid stress that may come in every so often when the elderly person is idle leading to other health complications.

Depression sets in after a series of life events that the patient regrets or wishes they had an opportunity to do things differently. When in isolation this thought grows very fast and the mind exaggerates them leaving a feeling of failure and disappointment in self. Such moments may trigger suicidal thoughts or even the action itself. It is therefore important to have someone to share with.

Sometimes accidents occur like a gas leak or the patient might fall while attempting to stand. A heart attack or stroke may also come unannounced which could have fatal consequences especially if the patient is alone in the house. With an assistant, they can easily offer first aid and call emergency services. This could be the difference between life and death.

Helping the aging is vital to ensure they remain healthy. As noted earlier, apart from mental abilities levels going down, the elderly person is, in most cases, healthy and in good condition. In order to maintain this, constant care to help them maintain cleanliness, eat a proper diet and engage in physical activities is required. This way the individual will avoid diseases and remain healthy for long.

Moving into an assisted nursing facilities often does not help the patient become any better. This is because most of them are used to a routine and a specific environment. The transfer requires many readjustments which might worsen their condition. Getting someone to keep them company instead is a better alternative in this case.

Most companions are trained to be compassionate and treat the patient with love. Most of them are natural caregivers and so the family can have peace of mind knowing their parent or sibling is in good hands. This is very important as it frees the family members to carry on with their lives especially when they live far from the elderly person.

The importance of having an assistant to keep the patient company cannot be overstated. The cost of hiring a caregiver varies with how much assistance the person requires and the level of education of the caregiver. It is important to get someone who has some training especially in first aid or get a certified nursing assistant.




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