Back in May I wrote about Wii suggesting it would be an excellent tool for older people and those suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
The game satisfies two needs: social interaction and exercise.
Recently, I am reading articles about how Wii is being adopted by Senior centers and assisted living facilities all across the country. The game of choice seems to be bowling. Wii bowling provides moderate exercise and allows groups to get together much like they would at a bowling alley.
Ninetendo offers hundreds of games that can be played with Wii. You can exercise your body and even exercise your brain with Wii Brain Academy.
To continue reading go here.
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Wii a Useful Tool for Alzheimer's Caregivers
Thursday, November 19, 2009
How To Beat Alzheimer's Incontinence
We are on a three day roll. No pee pee. No pee pee pajamas. No pee pee underwear. No pee pee pants......
Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading Room
Editor
My mother suffered from urinary incontinence long before I moved to Delray Beach to take care of her.
My sister Joanne was the first to notice the problem -- 8 or 9 years ago.
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Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a stigmatized, underreported, under-diagnosed, under-treated condition that is erroneously thought to be a normal part of aging. One-third of men and women ages 30-70 believe that incontinence is a part of aging (National Institute of Health, NIH).
You could put everything I knew about urinary incontinence in a thimble before I started to focus on this problem. Reading and learning about the problem helped me come to the conclusion that we could do something about it. A little education is always helpful.
I want to make something clear. I did not arrive at this current solution to urinary incontinence over night. It took years.
Once we finally developed the current solution, it still took many months before it started to work effectively. Here is some good news. The solution is becoming more and more effective over time.
My solution is not perfect. It does not work every single day. It does not work every single night. I can say this with some confidence -- we no longer experience the flood. Now its more like the little tiny accident.
When we have a problem with incontinence during the day it usually happens because I am tardy or less than perfect in following the program.
If you decide to try this, it is going to be a lot of work. You will need to tailor my solution to fit you own needs or you own Alzheimer's sufferer.
If you are not ready to give this program everything you have to give -- you will likely end up frustrated, or quit.
If you make this work you will end up with a wonderful feeling of accomplishment, and frankly, keep more of your hair.
If you really want to solve the problem of urinary incontinence, I suggest you try a little role reversal.
If you were the one with Alzheimer's and urinary incontinence, how would you want to be treated?
Would you want to be yelled at? Treated like a baby? Would you want to listen to someone constantly complain about how you are peeing all over yourself?
Would you want to feel all those bad vibes being directed at you?
I tried many times to do something about incontinence over the years. All false starts. I gave up every time.
Finally, the problem was so bad that we were using 14 sets of pajamas and 24 panties. My mother was blowing through 3 pajama bottoms a night. Day time, same story with her cloths.
All I can say is, that is a lot of wash.
My mother was suffering from incontinence from day one.
I turned to everyone I knew. I listened to their ideas and advice. I turned to women of all ages.
Most of the advice centered around two solutions -- pads and adult diapers.
I have to laugh at myself now as I remember my first trip to the store. I figured I would go in and grab what I needed and get on with the task at hand. Keep in mind I am a man.
Well the aisle that contained these products in Walmart was gigantic. It just went on and on. I think I spent more than 30 minutes trying to figure out which might work for the problem at hand.
In a way, it was mesmerizing. Oddly, since I am a curious person it was interesting to me. Later I thought to myself, wow, this is one big problem.
I decided to try the adult diapers. At the mention of this, my mother pitched a fit.
I would get here to put the diaper on grudgingly. As soon as I wasn't looking she would take the diaper off.
If you are an Alzheimer's caregiver you can already imagine the things she was saying. Some of them not very nice.
Let me tell you what I was accomplishing -- I was making my mother miserable and mean. This in turn was making me miserable. The dreaded stomach ache.
Here is what I started to learn.
My mother did not believe there was a problem. It was embarrassing to wear a diaper. It was a sign of old age. If she didn't think there was a problem she would never accept the solution to the problem.
I thought to myself, well if there wasn't a problem I wouldn't wear a diaper either.
I gave up.
Here we were again. 14 pair of pajamas, 24 undies.
Now I decided to try the pads, the inserts. I thought I had a new idea that would work.
I convinced my mother's elderly friends to talk to my mother and tell her how they used the inserts, pads, and diapers. How it was a normal part of getting old. I coached them to be very enthusiastic and tell her how great this solution worked. I asked them to smile and laugh all the way.
My mother listened -- in went the pad.
They went home and out came the pad. I know they say that the person suffering from Alzheimer's will eventually get use to the pads and every thing will be beautiful.
I tried and I tried and I tried. I gave up.
I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner but I finally decided it was time for a trip into the Alzheimer's bunkhouse. I took my big newspaper pad with me and wrote -- problem incontinence -- right in the middle of the page with a big circle around it.
Then I started writing everything I could think of and remember about this problem all around that circle.
Then like magic like the light bulb went on in my head. I thought to myself, if I can do this I'll be like the Leonardo da Vinci of urinary incontinence (I'm Italian by the way).
To continue reading -- go here.
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Bob DeMarco is the editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. The Alzheimer's Reading Room is the number one website on the Internet for news, advice, and insight into Alzheimer's disease. Bob has written more than 950 articles with more than 8,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.
Original content Bob DeMarco, Alzheimer's Reading Room Read More......
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
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Subscribe to The Alzheimer's Reading Room--via Email
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Original content Bob DeMarco, Alzheimer's Reading Room Read More......
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Should Women Be Worried about Alzheimer's ?
Current statistical studies indicate that at age 80, there is a one in five chance of suffering from Alzheimer's disease (20 out of 100).
At age 85, the odds rise to one out of every two (50 out of 100). I call this the Alzheimer's danger zone.
It is well known that women live longer than men. But, I don't think it is well known that healthy women live much longer than healthy men, and live into the Alzheimer's danger zone.Women who reach the age of fifty without suffering from cancer or heart disease can expect to live nearly ninety-two years (92).**
Men who live to age sixty-five without suffering from cancer or heart disease, can expect to live to eighty-one (81).
I believe most men and woman would find these aging statistics startling. Especially women marrying older men.
I doubt that 50 year old women are thinking or worrying about Alzheimer's if they have not seen it in their family. It seems to me that they should be very worried. Without a treatment or a cure, 50 percent of the woman in the group described above can expect to suffer from dementia or Alzheimer's.
Here are some things that women can be doing to stay healthy, protect their brain, and decrease the chances of suffering from Alzheimer's.
The list.For more Insight into Alzheimer's Disease
Subscribe to The Alzheimer's Reading RoomBob DeMarco is an Alzheimer's caregiver and editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room. The Alzheimer's Reading Room is the number one website on the Internet for insight into Alzheimer's disease. Bob taught at the University of Georgia, was an executive at Bear Stearns, the CEO of IP Group, and is a mentor. He has written more than 600 articles with more than 11,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.
More from the Alzheimer's Reading Room
**Davidhizar, R. (1999). Caregiving from a distance. Hospital Topics: Research and Perspectives on Healthcare
Original content the Alzheimer's Reading Room
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Is it Alzheimer's or the Thyroid
Read the complete article at the Alzheimer's Reading Room.
I wish I could shout this from the mountain top: "when Alzheimer's or dementia present themselves get the thyroid checked".Read More......
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
100 Million Adults Touched by Alzheimer's
HBO Alzheimer's Project / Harris Interactive Census
Read more on this topic.
Alzheimer's Reading Room: 100 Million Adults Touched by Alzheimer's Read More......
Friday, April 24, 2009
Are Alzheimer's Caregivers the Forgotten?
Forty percent of Alzheimer's caregivers end up suffering from depression. Do you want to see this happen to a loved one or friend? Like it or not, if you are a family member or friend of an Alzheimer's caregiver and you are not helping them--you have abandoned them. I am sure this sounds harsh. But, it's not even close to the harshness of your own behavior. Alzheimer's is a sinister disease--it kills the brain of the person suffering from Alzheimer's. And, it will try to kill the brain of the Alzheimer's caregiver.
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