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Alzheimer's: Understand and control wandering
Keeping your loved one safe
Techniques for keeping your loved one safe may range from providing a safe place to wander — either indoors or out — to rigging your doors with alarms and hidden locks.
Reduce hazards
Remove tripping hazards such as throw rugs and extension cords. Install night lights to aid nighttime wanderers and put gates at stairwells to prevent falls.
A place to wander safely
If wandering isn't associated with distress or a physical need, you may want to focus simply on providing a safe place for walking or exploration. This could be a path through the rooms of your house or a trail through a fenced backyard. Some nursing homes have circular routes where wanderers can travel to their hearts' content.
Providing a safe place to wander may help your loved one get more exercise, which can improve his or her ability to sleep through the night.
Alarms and locks
A variety of devices can alert you that your loved one is on the move. Pressure-sensitive alarm mats can be placed at the door or at your loved one's bedside. Warning bells can be used on doors. Childproof covers on doorknobs also are helpful. Many people also install sliding bolt locks up high on doors, out of the average person's line of sight.
Camouflaging doors
Doors to off-limits rooms pose a different problem. Camouflaging a door with paint or wallpaper to match the surrounding wall may short-circuit a compulsion to wander into such rooms. Curtains over the door might also work. A mirror on or near the door stops some wanderers. Sometimes a stop sign on a door is enough.
Some people have had success with creating a visual abyss in front of exit doors, by laying down strips of black tape to form a 2-foot black hole at the threshold.
Help ensure a safe return
Despite the best of efforts, some people with Alzheimer's will still wander off and get lost. They can be difficult to find, because they often behave in an unpredictable manner. For example, they rarely call for help or respond to searchers' calls. Once found, they often don't remember where they live. Some can't remember their own names.
The Alzheimer's Association's Safe Return program is designed to help identify people who wander and return them to their caregivers. For a modest fee, you receive:
- An identification bracelet
- Name labels for clothing
- Identification cards for wallet or purse
- Registration in a national database with emergency contact information
- A 24-hour toll-free number to report someone who is lost
You can register someone by filling out a form online at the Alzheimer's Association's Web page or by calling 888-572-8566.
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