Could Alternative Therapies Be Right for a Senior with Dementia?
Dementia isn’t curable currently, but that might not stop your senior from hoping to find something to slow it down, even if that something is an alternative therapy. You might be rightfully concerned about some of your senior’s plans regarding alternative therapies, so should you just let her do what she wants?
Investigate the Treatments She’s Considering
Take some time to take these ideas seriously. Some alternative therapies do have merit in certain circumstances, even just in terms of the placebo effect. There are a massive amount of alternative therapies your senior might be considering from art therapy to aromatherapy, massage, exercise, and more. Each of these can have different impacts on her situation, so it’s vital to talk to her doctor about how these alternative treatments might add to or complicate her health situation.
She May Feel as if Alternatives Give Her a Better Chance
It’s difficult to face something like dementia and know that there’s no one cure or treatment that’s guaranteed to do exactly what your senior wants. Her doctor may recommend certain medications if they’re warranted for her situation, but your senior may feel as if adding these additional treatments gives her an even better fighting chance. If they don’t show signs of possibly hurting her progress, they might be treatments that she should try just because they help her to emotionally feel better.
These Treatments Can Improve Quality of Life
Some of these treatments may not do much to combat the dementia itself, but they may improve your senior’s quality of life. Massage, for instance, has proven physical and emotional benefits as long as your senior doesn’t have conditions that are contraindicated for massage. Anything that helps your elderly family member to feel better overall and to experience a greater quality of life isn’t something you want to turn down.
You May Need to Let Her Try Them
In the end, if your senior is insistent about trying some alternative treatments, you may need to let her go ahead and give them a shot. If she finds that she doesn’t enjoy those treatments or she feels that they aren’t helpful, she might give them up on her own. But overall, they might just be what she needs on an emotional level to feel as if she still has some sort of say in what’s happening.
Home care providers can help with transportation if some of these treatments are ones that your senior needs to travel to on her own. That can be a huge relief for you, especially if you can’t be there with her.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering Home Care Services in Forsyth GA please contact the caring staff at Angels of Mercy Private Homecare Services, Inc. today at 478-745-5111.
Angels of Mercy Private Homecare has been providing in-home care services since 2002 throughout the Macon and Middle Georgia Area.
Angels of Mercy Private Homecare Services provides in-home care that improves the lives of the clients. Our services help them maintain the highest possible level of independent living. We provide In-home private duty care and care management services for seniors throughout the Middle Georgia area.
Our CNA (certified nursing aides), caregiver, and companion services allow our clients to age in the place where they feel most comfortable and secure - at home. Combine our Home Care Services, with our Geriatric Care Management component, and we provide the most comprehensive assistance for the Middle Georgia areas seniors.
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