Tips To Deal With Alzheimer’s Aggression In Seniors 

February 1, 2021 0 Comment Category: Senior Health

Alzheimer’s disease is a very common health condition among seniors and can be very challenging to manage. As per the statistics, the cost of care for Alzheimer’s in the country is higher than that of heart diseases or cancer. With the progress of the disease, many factors like anxiety, stress, and frustration can result in agitation in the person. This agitation can even lead to aggression that is directed at the caregiver and others. Aggression from Alzheimer’s can take the form of verbal or physical lashing out and science has not yet found why some patients become aggressive while others do not.

If you are a caregiver in a senior care facility, you can best prepare to deal with Alzheimer’s aggression by understanding the warning signs and learning ways to cope with the situation.

Warning Signs Of Alzheimer’s Aggression 

As the disease progresses, the person can show many new behaviors like a lack of interest in things that they enjoyed, pacing or wandering, imagining things, and misunderstanding sounds and sights. One of the most effective things that you can do is to notice the changes and diffuse the situation by addressing the cause of the change or helping the patient adjust and adapt to the change in the case of changes that are beyond anyone’s control. For instance, if the person has moved from their home to a senior care facility, helping them adapt to the change by placing familiar objects around them might ease agitation and comfort them when they acclimate to the change.

Coping With Alzheimer’s Aggression 

In an assisted living facility, there are many things that you can do to cope with aggressive behavior in Alzheimer’s patients. In the event of an outbreak of aggression from a patient, the first thing is to address any physical harm to yourself, the senior, or anyone else in the vicinity. 

If there is any stressor involved in the aggressive behavior, try to redirect the person and focus his/her attention on some other activity. The tips shared below might help provide a calm environment:

• Make sure to listen to the frustrations of the patient and reassure them.
• Maintain a simple and structured routine.
• Avoid unnecessary noise, clutter and reduce the number of visitors.
• Limit the use of stimulants like coffee and avoid junk foods.
• Add quiet time to the daily routine of the person.

Apart from the above tips, it is important to allow the person as much control over their day as possible.