Creating a Safe and Friendly Home Environment for Dementia Caregiving

How to Ensure the Safety of You and Your Loved One

About four years ago, Dad required surgery on a bone spur in his ankle. We didn’t want to put him through surgery, but this bone spur was sawing on his achilles, so it was either get that out of there or face a worse surgery later.

Up until that point, he’d been pretty steady on his feet and he walked mostly upright as the arthritis in his back and neck hadn’t fully taken over yet. Consequently, we had no need to worry too much about safety concerns.

A few days before his outpatient surgery, someone told me that the fire department would help us get Dad into the house after his surgery. What a blessing! I called to double-check this and to confirm the process.

Keep this tip in your back pocket, friends! It’s a great one!

Anyway, when I knew he was on his way home from the surgery, I called the fire department and they were waiting for him when he arrived. I explained the situation - he was non-weight bearing but had dementia so he wouldn’t remember.

They were great. They got him into the house and even helped him go to the bathroom before they helped him get situated in his chair.

But, on the way out, they pointed out rugs that needed to be removed, as well as a couple of other hazards that we needed to remove so he could get around with his knee scooter.

It was a head smack ‘duh’ moment for Mom and I and we removed the obstacles immediately.

Today, I’d like to share with you both safety tips, as well as some tips on creating a dementia-friendly home environment for your loved one.

There are several things you need to be mindful of as you consider the safety of your loved one in his or her home environment. I must confess that I never considered many of these with Dad.

Photo by Bernd 📷 Dittrich on Unsplash

Remove or Hide Dangerous Chemicals

Someone with dementia doesn’t always consider whether something is good for them before using it. As Dad’s dementia advanced, we found ourselves hiding more and more items around the house.

Most of our chemicals were in places he wasn’t likely to visit, like the basement storage area, the garage storage cabinets, or the laundry room.

Always make sure that anything dangerous is not stored where things they can have access to are also stored. If your loved one is of the curious sort, you may even need to put a padlock on these items.

Safely Store Medications

I recently mentioned how Dad’s blood pressure went sky high one evening and we took him to the ER. With is systolic numbers near or over 200 and the diastolic around 120, he was admitted to the hospital, but not before the ER doctor asked us who managed Dad’s meds.

This was right after I moved in, and we didn’t know until that point that it was necessary to monitor his meds.

Our best guess, however, was that he was forgetting to take them all.

As a result, while he was in the hospital, we gathered all of the medications and hid them in the potholder drawer of the kitchen. Never one to cook anything, they were safe in there for the remainder of his life.

We got a pill dispenser and tucked it away in the drawer next to it - another place he never inspected - and that’s how it was until he went into the hospital.

Medications are very dangerous if you forget them, especially meds for things like blood pressure. But it’s also dangerous to take too many of something. Overdoses aren’t just for narcotics.

Before you have a disaster, make sure you’re keeping an eye on your loved one’s medications, if not taking over the dispensing of them altogether. This way, you know for sure, when the doctor asks you when the last time was that your loved one had his medication!

Kitchen Hazards

While Dad wasn’t one to cook much, other than popcorn, there are many people with dementia who once loved to cook.

There are several ways disaster can strike:

1. Leaving a burner on by mistake

2. Laying something on a hot or still on burner

3. Putting metal in the microwave

4. Leaving a gas oven on

5. Anything with knives, including the possibility of using one as a weapon during a hallucination or delusion

I’m sure there are others - if you think of some, leave them in the comments! We should all know what they are.

Our oven is all digital, so I’m not sure how we would have managed if Dad got into trouble in the kitchen, but if you can, it might help to remove the handles from knobs when the oven isn’t in use and put safety locks on the oven and microwave doors.

The night we had to call the squad to remove Dad, they first sent police since he was pretty volatile. Our police department lost two officers a few years ago to a domestic dispute, so I fully understood! One of the questions the dispatcher asked me was if he had access to knives. I told her no as I hid them in the pantry.

Rugs and Other Floor Obstacles

I’m actually more conscious of this now, with Mom than I was with Dad, outside of his surgery recovery time.

She’s starting to fall more often and she sways a lot. Her Apple Watch sends her messages about her unsteadiness probably every couple of weeks now. So far, she hasn’t been injured badly, but I’m getting more and more nervous about the rugs in our home.

She also has trouble with curbs, which is how she fell last week. I worry about her going up and down the steps to our front porch and into the garage as well.

While we were considering moving to a ground floor apartment when we put Dad in memory care, since he passed so quickly, she decided to stay in this condo, but now I’m second-guessing that decision because the apartment would have fewer steps to navigate - like none.

Other things that seem harmless but can cause trouble are the thresholds between different types of flooring, especially if they stick up very far, or are pulled up on the edges.

Another thing that makes me cringe is when I clean the wood floors. I use one of those floor cleaners that is supposed to dry quickly, and I make sure she knows not to walk thru, but it still makes me so nervous. I may start doing that when she naps, just so I’m sure it’s dry.

Additionally, furniture that pokes out into the traffic lane that runs through your house could also present a problem. Watch your loved one navigate their home and see what other obstacles may present themselves.

And finally, keep objects that don’t belong on the floor off of the floor. There are many things that, when lying against a floor, become like ice skates if you step on them.

Ensure Good Lighting

While it’s calming and all to have low lighting, it’s also dangerous. Keep in mind that as we age, our eyesight tends to get worse. Low light is the enemy to poor eyesight, so try to keep lights on in the areas your loved one spends time in.

We have light timers, which you can either do the old fashioned way, or set them up with the Alexa app on your phone. Of course, these timers confused Dad, so we had to remove them from the upstairs loft where he watched television, but he always turned on a different light up there so he was okay.

Be sure that the common areas are all well lit - places like bathrooms, hallways, and stairs should be easy to see and navigate.

Install Handrails and Other Assistive Devices

A couple of summers ago, we had my son-in-law come over and install a handrail on the other side of the two steps that lead to our garage. It seems like a small thing, but boy has it been a blessing!

Make sure you have handrails wherever your loved one may need them, like stairways, regardless of how many steps are there, showers, and toilet areas.

Additionally, make sure that things next to where they sit are stable. What I mean by this is don’t let them lean on a wobbly table to help themselves stand. Dad would do this occasionally in places he shouldn’t have and it nearly ended in disaster.

If something feels wobbly to you, get it out of the way. Function over fashion!

Also, consider a shower chair for your loved one. Towards the end, Dad would be exhausted after his shower and I worried that he needed that chair so he could sit. I’m now trying to convince my mother to put it back. Her last statement was, “If it will make you feel better, you can put it in there.”

Add Extra Locks to Prevent Wandering

As I’ve mentioned before, Dad couldn’t wander because of the arthritis in his back and neck. But, before it got to be so bad, he loved to head out and walk to the park next to our neighborhood. This was a five minute walk, tops.

As his dementia progressed, he would be gone longer and longer, so I’d head out to walk the dog and see if I could find him. He was always sitting on a bench at the park, having gone as far as he could go. I truly think he needed help getting back home, so I’d always offer to walk back with him.

If your loved one wanders off, it’s a good idea to put in an extra lock. Some suggest putting it up higher, out of their line of sight. Also, instead of a chain lock, I’d suggest a deadbolt. Using a key will become challenging for your loved one, if it isn’t already.

Of course, along with that, don’t be one of those people who leaves the key in the deadbolt.

There are also ankle monitors you can get for your loved one. Our local police department will put them on people with dementia to help keep track of them should they wander off.

Have Another Set of Eyes

After my mother passed out from cardiac syncope right after I moved in her, scaring the living h*ll out of me, I got Ring© cameras and installed them around the house. That way, if I wasn’t home, I could still check on them.

After Dad kept falling out of bed, I installed one in their bedroom so that it pointed to his side of the bed and I could see how he was falling. The answer, for those who are curious, is that he slept with his butt hanging off of the bed, kind of in a fetal position, and he would just roll out when he tried to get up.

I also had one downstairs when Mom was spending time down there, and when he had his catheter, I also had one in the dining room which covered the space between his chair and the bathroom.

These cameras provide peace of mind, especially if you’re not home. It’s especially true if you are asking someone else to sit with your loved one while you’re out. You can keep an eye on things.

Some assisted living facilities and memory care units will even allow you to place cameras in your loved one’s room. I think this is an excellent idea!

Hide All Weapons

Your loved one certainly doesn’t harbor any negative intentions towards you or your family members, but that doesn’t mean that a weapon might not accidentally fall into their hands.

We don’t have guns here. My father wasn’t into them and I’ve never learned to shoot. But I know you might. Just be sure to have your weapons and ammo stored in a locked safe so your loved one doesn’t accidentally get into trouble!

Food Safety

This is one I have to stay dialed into for my Mom. She’s terrible about thinking food is safe to eat long past it’s expiration date. Sometimes, I have to sneak stuff to the disposal to keep her from eating it.

Make sure to keep the food in your home up to date. Frequently evaluate and toss expired foods, both canned and refrigerated.

Also, know what foods might cause a conflict with your loved one’s medication. You’d be surprised at what some medications restrict you from eating, like grapefruit!

Wrapping Up

Safety for your loved one is a top priority, especially as their dementia progresses. Making sure they’re living in the safest environment you can provide is so very important to both your health and theirs.

If you have any other ideas on how to keep our loved ones safe, please provide those in the comments! We all need to share what we’ve learned so we help one another!