Summer safety: Essential tips when dementia is present
The hottest months require Care Partners to exercise vigilance so that both they and the people they are supporting avoid heat exhaustion or other dangerous, potentially catastrophic outcomes.
“Well the biggest deal is you can die… That’s the biggest deal,” said Edith Gendron, who facilitates ADRC’s Dignified Dementia Care: A Partnership series, in a July 2024 episode of Informed Aging. “But what are the warning signs on the way because you will have warning signs.”
“You’ll have things like heat cramps… That is a super warning sign. Dizziness too. They use that fancy word syncope, but dizziness or nausea,” she added in the podcast episode titled “The Heat and Your Health.”
Another warning that someone has entered threatening territory is when sweating stops.
“When you progress into heat exhaustion, heat stroke, your body stops sweating…That looks like serious danger. Then if you come across somebody like that in the heat of the day, who is not sweating, just call 9-11,” Gendron said. “Just call 9-11, and start getting some water on them. Don’t get it in them because they probably can’t swallow. It’s kind of like somebody who’s having a seizure right, but get the body cooled off from the outside.”
Other symptoms to watch for include staggering, clumsiness, confusion, and even leg swellings.
Cooling off quickly might entail soaking a washcloth in cold water and applying it to the neck, running cold water over the wrists, and, of course, entering an air conditioned space.
“While we’re talking about air conditioning, that’s something else to be aware of — you need to keep those a/c (units) maintained,” Gendron added. “If your air conditioner goes out at midnight… it’s gonna get hot real fast. And we know — and it depends on what resource you check, or what source you check — but elderly people 65 and older should try to maintain indoor temperatures between 65 and 78. But if it gets up around 80, it’s too hot and certainly if it gets to be 90 (degrees), you’re in trouble. You’ve got to do something — get out, go to a mall, go to McDonald’s and sit in the cool air. Do something until the air conditioner is fixed. Go to a hotel if you have to.”
The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America states that “cooling centers” exist in numerous cities so that people without home air conditioning can get respite from the heat. Such spaces might include libraries or senior centers.
If going outside is on the agenda, however, both the Care Partner and their person should find shade and fans that blow air over the body. They should wear loose, light clothing.
“Just because something’s light and translucent doesn’t mean it’s comfortable, so look at the fiber content,” Gendron said, adding that cotton and linen are good options. “If you’re outside, you want to cover up though. You want the long white cotton sleeves to try to keep that sun off your skin.”
It’s also critical to stay hydrated, which we wrote about in depth in a separate article, “Hacking Hydration this summer: A guide for Care Partners.”
And the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America warns that, while wandering always carries risk for the person living with brain-related brain changes, the hazards are greater as temperatures climb.
The organization adds that Care Partners can lessen the likelihood that their person will wander by establishing “walking paths around the home with visual cues and stimulating objects” or otherwise facilitating meaningful activities.
The heat asks Care Partners and their people to slow down.
“Don’t move around a lot,” Gendron states. “No marathon running, don’t sweep the floor, no mopping. No rigorous anything. Just sit, and be quiet, read a book. That’s why reading at the beach is such a wonderful thing to do.”