Hi, My Mum has AD, diagnosed in April. But we believe she had had it for a couple of years. She has recently emptied her wardrobes of All of her clothes. Apparently they are her husbands ex-wifes. We have tried to put them back in her wardrobe, with her help. But she takes them out again, usually in the night. she wears the same dirty clothes most days.Before we go to buy her new clothes, I was wondering if any of you lovely people had some advice on how to get the message across to my mum,that they are her clothes.
Mum has emptied her wardrobe
- Thread starter Sharron56
- Start date
My mother rejected almost all of her clothes, too, for a period of about two years. I bought countless pairs of pants, tops, but she wore the same, ill-fitting, worn things daily. I think she may have slept in them, too.
I was able to buy a duplicate of the pair of pants she constantly wore. You might try that.
Since a recent decline due to her physical health, staff at assisted living were helping her dress, and it was nice, but weird, to see her in different, clean clothes. But it is also sad, as it is a sign of a new downturn.
I was able to buy a duplicate of the pair of pants she constantly wore. You might try that.
Since a recent decline due to her physical health, staff at assisted living were helping her dress, and it was nice, but weird, to see her in different, clean clothes. But it is also sad, as it is a sign of a new downturn.
I have personal experience with caring for someone with Dementia, I have also worked in a care home for Dementia.
We found that having name "tags" in every item helped. This can be time consuming to do but then it can be shown to her that in fact this is her item of clothing as it has her name in it.
Hope this helps and keep smiling.
We found that having name "tags" in every item helped. This can be time consuming to do but then it can be shown to her that in fact this is her item of clothing as it has her name in it.
Hope this helps and keep smiling.
My mother also had a period of rejecting/fixating on her clothing and while it's a bit better, it's still an issue.
She had three walk-in closets stuffed with clothing but also piles and piles of clothes all over her home. Despite this, she would only wear about two pairs of trousers and five tops, over and over (and of course she was not washing them or herself).
Now she is in a care home, and she seems to need to have a certain amount of clothing (a baseline, if you will) to feel comfortable/reassured. This is also true of snack food, toilet rolls, and Kleenex.
I finally figured out that part of the problem was that if she can't see the clothing (she leaves the closet doors open and the care home doesn't mind, thank goodness), then at times, it does not exist for her. So you might try leaving the wardrobe open, removing the doors, or replacing it with just a rod/rack for hanging clothes on.
My mother will often reject new items of clothing if I tell her they are new, but if I bring them in a plastic carrier bag, she will often say, what is in the bag? Oh, look, it's my (top/trousers/whatever), I wondered where I had put that, and I will say something like, it was in the wash, Mum, here you go.
Name tags or marking clothes may or may not work. My mother was initially offended by the markings but now can no longer seem to see them. She can, however, see the sizes marked in the clothing, at least some of the time. You never know, with dementia.
I hope you will find something that works!
She had three walk-in closets stuffed with clothing but also piles and piles of clothes all over her home. Despite this, she would only wear about two pairs of trousers and five tops, over and over (and of course she was not washing them or herself).
Now she is in a care home, and she seems to need to have a certain amount of clothing (a baseline, if you will) to feel comfortable/reassured. This is also true of snack food, toilet rolls, and Kleenex.
I finally figured out that part of the problem was that if she can't see the clothing (she leaves the closet doors open and the care home doesn't mind, thank goodness), then at times, it does not exist for her. So you might try leaving the wardrobe open, removing the doors, or replacing it with just a rod/rack for hanging clothes on.
My mother will often reject new items of clothing if I tell her they are new, but if I bring them in a plastic carrier bag, she will often say, what is in the bag? Oh, look, it's my (top/trousers/whatever), I wondered where I had put that, and I will say something like, it was in the wash, Mum, here you go.
Name tags or marking clothes may or may not work. My mother was initially offended by the markings but now can no longer seem to see them. She can, however, see the sizes marked in the clothing, at least some of the time. You never know, with dementia.
I hope you will find something that works!
Oh gosh I sympathise Sharron. Mum was always a bit clothes obsessed and of course it became worse with AD. There seems to be a combination of issues. One could be associated with rummaging, my Mum used to empty her wardrobe every night and put it all on the bed. Brother as main carer in-situ used to have to put it all back. I think it was more a case of reassurance.
The blaming this on someone else is common with AD - maybe a conflation of two events? I used to reduce her clothes bit by bit, stealthily as she tended to notice. I think the idea of the M+S bags with 'new clothes' is brilliant, whatever pushes her 'good' buttons really. Anything involving a reasoned explanation won't work, as dementia is the antithesis of rationality. In the end, and in care home, I kept it to just enough, but with plenty of underwear. I often took cheap socks in as these often went missing. Most of these phases pass with time.
The blaming this on someone else is common with AD - maybe a conflation of two events? I used to reduce her clothes bit by bit, stealthily as she tended to notice. I think the idea of the M+S bags with 'new clothes' is brilliant, whatever pushes her 'good' buttons really. Anything involving a reasoned explanation won't work, as dementia is the antithesis of rationality. In the end, and in care home, I kept it to just enough, but with plenty of underwear. I often took cheap socks in as these often went missing. Most of these phases pass with time.
