Dementia: 5 things to know about people who wander

For many Manitobans there is a struggle to know how best to treat family members in the early stages of dementia.

CBC'sInformation Radioasked Norma Kirkby, the program director of the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba, whatfamilies need to know to properly care for aperson who maywander from their home and potentially injure themselves.

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1. Confusion about time and place

The number one thing to look for is disorientation to time and place,Kirkby said.

There should be increased awareness if a person is notrecognizing their own home or if they speak about their home as if it is a place from the past.

The disorientation may also present itself if apersonseems to do very well but one day fails torecognize where they are or how to get home.

2. Getting used to newsurroundings

Kirkby said that families and friends should also be looking out for people that have dementia in the weeks after they changetheir surroundings. It couldbe moving from a house to assisted living, or from one facility to another.

Kirkby said the risk in the first 90 days of a move is very high.

3. Know what security measures are in place

Kirkby said that families should be aware of the type of facility their family member with dementia is living in.

She said assisted living isnot secure and allows tenants to come and go as they please, which isdifferent from supportive housing in Manitoba, where there is security at the building's exits. Nursing homesprovide more advanced care and are typically secured facilities.

Assessing where someone with dementia is living is especially important if the individual lives alone and may not have anyone around to recognize disorientation or when they areleaving the building without proper clothing.

4. Register to get 'Safely Home'

Kirkby advocates for the MedicAlert Safely Home program, wherepeople wear bracelets with blue markings to indicate some type of memory loss or dementia. The bracelet indicates pertinent information about the person wearing the bracelet, as well as a hotline phone number to call if the person is lost.

"We really encourage families of a person that hasdementiato register the individual early because you never know when that first time might be," Kirkby said.

Some families rely on cell phone GPS to keep family members safe but Kirkby said that there is always the risk that the phone won't be on the individual if they get lost, or it could lose its charge.

Kirkby said that asthe Safely Home program becomes more well recognized, themore reliable it will become.

5. Keep coats out of sight

"We say to people put coats in the closet and keep it out of sight," Kirkby said.

Items that are typically reminders of going outdoors likecoats and shoes trigger the instinct to leave the building, she said, so it is best to keep them out of sight if a person is prone to wandering.

Kirkby said that people with dementia are often still able bodied and need exercise sofamily and friends shouldplan to take them out fora walkso they get fresh air and exercise but aren't at risk of getting lost.