Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk Safety for someone with Alzheimer's

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, six in 10 people with Alzheimer’s disease will wander. Wandering is best described as a tendency to roam or walk around without a clear destination or purpose. For those with Alzheimer’s disease, the destination or purpose of the walk is often forgotten, causing them to become confused or lost.

As a caregiver, you are must be concerned about the safety of someone who wanders. There may be no harm in wandering a contained space, but for someone with dementia who gets lost outside, the risk of injury is high. You would not allow a child to roam. A senior with dementia may have equivalent judgement.

There are several reasons why a person who has dementia might wander and understanding these will help you put some practical interventions in place:

Stress, fear, and anxiety

Searching for important people, such as old friends or family members

Searching for the bathroom

Searching for food

Visual-spatial challenges

Memory loss

Boredom, especially at night (called sundowning) and restlessness

Pain

Poor sleep, restlessness

People with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia may have pain and can’t express it verbally, so they wander to find relief. Over-stimulating environments can also cause anxiety and the urge to “get away.”

Home adaptations to support safe wandering include:

Keep spaces clutter-free to minimize fall risk

Remove rugs to minimize risk of falls

Eliminate the need to use stairs

Lock the stovetop to prevent your loved one from trying to cook

Keep windows and doors locked

Install alarms on all exterior doors

Camouflage doors – hang curtains over exterior doors to make them less visible

Use a pressure-sensitive alarm mat to notify you when your loved one gets up at night

Install gates to dissuade entry to unsafe areas of the house, including stairs

Fence in the backyard to allow your loved one access without risk

Install safety locks on kitchen cabinets

Lock up all medications and cleaning products

Behavioral Strategies for Wandering Caused by Dementia

Knowing that part of the cause of wandering is boredom, anxiety, and fear, learning behavioral strategies to keep your loved one occupied can prevent unsafe wandering. The added benefit is reducing unwanted agitation and frustration.

Here are some ways to help a loved one with dementia:

Redirect and distract with an activity or exercise

Find out if your loved one is in pain, too hot or cold, thirsty, or hungry

Minimize noise and overstimulation

Turn on the music –music has been found to have a calming effect on people with dementia.

Listen to your loved one’s concerns with compassion, and to the extent you can, try and alleviate their fears and anxieties.

Provide lots of healthy snacks – wandering uses excess energy reserves and frequent snacks can help offset weight loss by dementia.

While it may be impossible to prevent wandering completely, you will want to permit safe wandering and reduce the risk of falls.