Summer heat putting dementia patients at risk; look out for these signs

Elders with Alz/dementia more likely to suffer heat stroke & dehydration

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Beating the summer heat is hard enough for anyone, but our loved ones with dementia or Alzheimer’s are some of the highest candidates to suffer stroke and dehydration.

Med Center Health’s Director of the Cal Turner Rehab and Specialty Care Center Jacqueline Woodward said, “Try to engage that individual inside if at all possible. That loved one of yours may not be able to recognize that they’re going to get overheated outside.”

Woodward says that engaging with your loved one indoors is the best way to go.

“Maybe get them involved in something whether it might be in the kitchen, helping you prepare some food, something that’s going to steer them away from the outdoors,” said Woodward.

If getting your loved one indoors is a little tough, having an incentive usually works miracles.

“[Cal Turner Rehab and Specialty Care] always has some kind of nice little snack like popsicles in the warm weather,” said Woodward. “There’s nothing more refreshing than popsicles or a snow cone.”

Reminding them to hydrate and staying vigilant when monitoring their heat levels are some of the basic musts when summer heat strikes.

Paula Madison lost her father to Alzheimer’s in 2015. Around the same time period two of her aunts also died of the disease.

“It’s been pretty strong in our family,” said Madison.

As one of her dad’s primary caregivers, Madison knows firsthand how tough it is to remind your loved ones that their bodies can’t take all the heat that they used to.

“The last couple of years, he wasn’t left alone at all,” Madison said of her late father. “So, we had to make sure that he was safe. That’s a lot of it is just making sure that they’re safe.”

Woodward added, “I know how much that makes you feel better, when you do go outside just to get a little fresh air, but maybe just not get as much out of it.”