Nursing care plan for dementia

Nursing care plan for dementia | Tips, and methods you should know

General Health

A care plan is mandatory for dementia patients, as they are fragile, so they need to be looked after. It becomes more difficult for caregivers if their loved one is concerned. Other problems, like talking difficulty, faded responses, and communication puts a lot of mental pressure on the ill person’s family.

So, what is dementia?

Dementia is a term used for disorder and diseases, causing loss of memory. These diseases can also cause gradual disability to think and remember things. People who have dementia can’t perform even daily essential functions. The affected people may face emotional problems like getting angry or sad over little things.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, which includes 50% to 70% of the dementia patients. Vascular dementia” is another disease that forms 25% of the dementia patients’ list. Other conditions are Parkinson’s disease,dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia. A person can have two types of dementia at the same time as well. 

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Symptoms

There are different symptoms of dementia in many people; however they are mostly similar. Common symptoms are loss of memory, problem-solving problem, hallucination, language, and attention. Severity starts from memory loss and goes to hallucinations, and talking issues can also be included. Over time, the symptoms worsen; degeneration in the brains has been happening for a long time.        

In dementia, behavioral and psychological symptoms include:

  • An issue in talking and understanding language
  • Problem in eating and swallowing food
  • Believing things or events that have never occurred in reality
  • Walking aimlessly (wandering)
  • Hallucinations

These behavioral and psychological conditions deteriorate with the following contributors:

  • Angriness
  • State of mentally sad (depression)
  • Anxiety
  • Hunger
  • Sleep deprivation
  • Condition of less interest in anything

The thing to remember for the nursing care plan for dementia patients is that, don’t put the patients in a condition that might irritate him. If the surroundings or situation is beyond their understanding, patients might start crying or getting angry. So try to avoid this, and make a favorable atmosphere suitable for them.

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Nursing care plan for dementia

As you know, caring for a patient of dementia can be too hard. These patients have bizarre behavior, which can trigger frustration and make you angry to deal with them. However, specific methods and tips are necessary for the nursing care plan for impaired memory related to dementia as follows:  

  1. Lively temperament: Set your mind to be quite relaxed when dealing with a mentally disordered person. The person can irritate you because they often have mood swings, dual personality, and emotional problems. In this condition, you’ll not be able to deal until you’re doing it with a relaxed mind.
  2. The attention of the patient: To communicate correctly, you need the patient’s attention. Tell him your name and reason for your presence. Bring away distractions like music or other sounds. Tell him to sit alongside you while talking and make eye contact too.
  3. Asking questions: As cited above, these patients have a very low IQ, and they are relatively weak in reasoning and answering, hence ask slowly. It would help if you did not make the patient panic by loud voices, or strong tone questions, though take him as a kid. Try to ask questions so that they can be answered easily with “yes or no.”  
  4. Be calm: Try to wait for the patient’s delayed reply; they might be having trouble in quick responses naturally. Try to communicate with gestures and cues; do read his body language as well. Learn to understand the meaning of gestures the patient is giving and show him things instead of verbally.
  5. Asking for a helping hand: You can ask him to co-work with you while setting the table for dinner or anything else. You can disclose an action of placing the plate gently and ask him to do the same.
  6. What to do when he gets angry: If the patient is getting mad on a particular subject or situation, try to change the topic or environment. Take him for a walk or go to watch TV. It would be best if you understood the ill person’s feeling level. If he’s sad, tell him that everything’s going to be okay, or any other encouraging thing.
  7. Show love and confidence in the patient: Nursing care plan for dementia patients have this portion significant. These patients feel anxious and less confident of themselves, and they can recall things that never happened in reality. Eventually, they might end up being in very sad condition, hugs and physical reassurance with kindness is suggested here.

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How to deal when a dementia patient is angry?

Dementia patients are like kids; they can get angry on little things, though it’s difficult to calm them than the kids. The first thing to do is to be chill while dealing with him, be creative, patient, and compassionate. Don’t take things personally; do maintain your sense of humor to deal with such a situation.

Keep in mind that the person you’re dealing with is not himself, but he’s only because of his disorder/disease. You’ll fail if you try to be strict with him, the patient will resist the force and be frustrated from you, which’s bad for the nursing care plan for dementia. 

You can’t control this type of patient. For instance, if the person says he wants to go outside, take him for a walk for a while. The person himself can’t be changed, but the environment he’s surrounded in can be changed. A nursing care plan for a dementia patient can only be successful for those with a very flexible nature; a stiff person will get frustrated and ultimately fail.

However, behavior changes can be related to medical conditions too, have the patient checked from a doctor. The patient may be having side effects if he’s taking meds for the disorder. Some cases have told experts that these persons face hallucinations, and some medications can be helpful here.

Unlike normal people, dementia patients can’t concise their feelings and are unable to tell clearly what they are feeling. They can show some gestures to tell their needs.

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Understanding dementia patient’s behavior

Have it noted that when the patient is angry, that’s because something triggered his behavior. And temperament of the ill person can be harsh for a while due to the disorder. Someone might have said or done something discomforting for them, and that can be the reason of the triggered behavior.

Do remember that they have a progressive disease that will be worsening over time, and a solution that worked initially can be unhelpful coming days. You have to keep finding new ways and methods to calm the patient’s behavior. for further confirmation you may read Nursing care plan for dementia article twice.

Gestures the patient can show to tell something

Dementia affected people sometimes start walking aimlessly; they can’t recall what they want, but a little trigger in their mind. Tell them to search for it, though they don’t know what they are looking for, and here a nurse can play an essential role. You can set some regular schedule for certain things like physical exercise for restlessness.

Cameras should be installed for further safety concerns, and make them wear a GPS belt to track him if he gets lost accidentally. Try not to let him be habitual of something. These patients will be struck at something if not given of which they’re used to. Have him an ID bracelet worn, or you can sew ID tags in his clothes. Do acknowledge your neighbor about the patient and his wandering behavior too.

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Nursing plan for self-care deficit people

A nursing plan for self-care deficit related to dementia can be understood and addressed wisely. Normal people perform daily activities in which they eat, bathe, dress, do homework, and leisure. These daily activities are cal self-care, though there are people who can’t perform these activities. These people include those who have been in surgery on artificial limitations or others affected by any degenerative neuron disease like “Alzheimer’s disease.” 

Self-care deficit is a term used for the defect in which a person is unable to perform daily activities mentioned above. People experiencing depression also face difficulty in self-care. However, nurses can play a significant role in assisting the person having the problem. Nurses should follow a timetable for certain things like feeding time, bathing, and toilet to help him.

She can set the bed, and the room of a patient set things on their places which were left by the patient. In some dementia conditions, the person, as a result of the disease, loses bladder control (urine control). The nurse should set a routine for using the toilet for the patient. Ask him if they need to pee or use the washroom. Remind them every 2 hours and set a manual reminder for fluid intake, so he doesn’t get dehydrated.

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Final words

Dementia is a condition in which a person can’t recall things correctly and cannot perform daily activities. They are not capable of looking after them hence are called patient of self-care deficit. An extremely caring environment is required for a healthy lifestyle of the patient, and it can’t be fulfilled without an experienced nurse. This disease is degenerative and irreversible, which deteriorate in old age. hope you are now clear about Nursing care plan for dementia.

References

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