Looking in the mirror

[maximus1958]

Hi, My mother has a large mirror in her bathroom (a whole wall). She believes that someone is in the house and when I ask her to show me, the other person is her reflection in the mirror. She realises this when she sees my reflection along side her but if she goes back into the bathroom alone we go straight back to someone is in the house.

I have two questions, does anyone know of a paint that can be painted onto the mirror to completely block its reflecting capabilities. Fablon cant be used due to the size and the strong possibility it will wrinkle and crease during application.

My second question is, although mom has had this delusion for about a year it has got considerably worse this last week and for the last week she has started taking Donepezil.
Has anyone else experienced a similar side effect from this drug.
Thanks

 

[Kevinl]

I had to take down all the mirrors in the house as my wife couldn't recognises either of our reflections, they were the other people in the house. She was in a secure unit and they had no mirrors, likewise the home she's now in. On the unit the windows were some sort of none reflective glass but in the home they're not, the other day I found her arguing with her reflection in the patio door, it was dark outside so the reflection was quite noticeable and there was a man there today doing the same thing.
Usually the staff are quite good about closing the curtains as soon as it gets dark, it's standard part of the routine but sometimes it gets missed.
I'd look at the sticky backed plastic option as should the mirror ever get broken it would keep all the glass contained and reduce the risk of injury, you only need do it from knee high to above head height.
The other option might be a net curtain, it's pretty cheap to buy and you could probably tack it in place with a staple gun for simplicity.
K

 

[nitram]

Shower curtain(s) hung on https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N8USSA2 ?

 

[nitram]

If the mirror was installed by a reputable installer after 1992 it will be safety glass.

I also doubt that a wall size mirror would have been available without safety glass.

 

[christmas]

Hi my oh stands and looks in the mirrors don't know why he just stands there ,I just try to get him away and have a cup of tea , sometime when he does it I stand in front of it and talk to him so he can't see it and he comes away from it ,I was wondering what makes him do this,he as just started it .

 

[Bunpoots]

My dad had vivid delusions and weird behaviour when he was on 10mg of Donepezil. He is OK on 5mg.


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[maximus1958]

Thanks

Thank you all for the responses. The mirror was put up in the 70's by my father and although I know It weighed a great deal I don't know if it was toughened glass, I cant see any markings on it to indicate that it is. Due to its position I am not overly concerned about safety, its above the bath so you cant run into it and sadly the bath is no longer used.

The option of moving her away from the mirror isn't viable as I live 150+ miles away. Mom has carers each day and is currently able to live fairly independently, the carers are there to prompt actions, eating drinking dressing etc and to help with security as mom has "wandered" on two occasions, but this seems to have stopped for now.

Seeing her self in the window reflection hadn't occurred to me and thanks for the information as I was about to remove some net curtains mom has over the windows to allow some more light in and try to avoid what someone on this forum termed the sun down syndrome. I think the nets may be the lesser of two evils now.

The idea of a shower curtain is a possibility although I think mom still has enough capacity to try and remove it as it will upset her still very house proud, nature.

This is why I think the best option is to paint it out the mirror. I guess something must exist as you can get those painted glass splash backs for your kitchens but I just don't know what they use. I will carry on searching.

Thanks for your ideas though.

 

[Malalie]

This hasn't happened with MIL, thankfully, but I have heard other people talking about it on these boards. Could you just paint the mirror to match the walls?

I am not an expert,( just a crafty type person) but I would mask the bathroom, and give the mirror lp a light spray with with a car undercoat spray to give the new paint a key - and then paint it with whatever you want. Make sure that the glass is extremely clean first - give it a scrub with detergent, rinse and then a good polish with a clean cloth and vinegar.

Thinking again about what I have heard on this board, I think there are some PWD who are quite happy chattering to the other person in the mirror,unnerving for the watcher, but OK for the PWD?

Re Donepezil - MIL has just had it prescribed. She has to have an ECG and a blood test before she can have it. I have the leaflet from the memory clinic in front of me - it says 'it starts to work within a couple of weeks or so..." There are seven side effects listed -shortly Headaches,Loss of appetite,dizziness,nausea & vomiting, Diarrhoea, sleep disturbance, and seizures (uncommon) There are a few more things if she is on other drugs.

Obviously, we have no direct experience yet, but I thought that may help.

 

[dora]

window film

this is an opaque film that some people use instead of net curtains. It has the advantage of being easily removable.

From googling, it seems to be available from DIY stores at a reasonable price.

Hope this helps!

 

[arielsmelody]

Yes, we've used a plastic film to obscure the glass in the back door. You just wet the glass and place the film on, and as it dries the film clings on. We've got a few airbubbles but nothing major, and it just peels off afterwards. I bought it online - if you search on 'static cling window film' you should find a few examples - and I think I've seen it in diy stores. You shouldn't need to cover the whole mirror - I would have thought a strip across at face height might be enough.

 

[Azay28]

My Mum looks at herself in mirrors and then says look at that old face or look at the old woman in your car. I had thought she was just not liking her face ageing as sometimes she mentions the marks that have appeared (age spots) and not liking them. She also sticks her tongue out at herself. But will use mirror to brush her hair or apply moisturiser.
Mums also been on Donepezil 2 yrs now at 5mg. The 10mg made her sick. Her appetite has dwindled but that has been gradually over the 2yrs.

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[maximus1958]

70s thought so and not toughened.
Am missing the objection to just getting rid of the mirror and painting or covering what's behind?

Weight, the mirrors not mine, disposal, potential injury if it breaks and potential damage to the bath under it if it breaks up for whatever reason.

Amd to be honest I am not sure what is behind it, so may even need a plastering job, so all in all I thought the paint option was the easiest, safest and quickest.

 

[maximus1958]

This hasn't happened with MIL, thankfully, but I have heard other people talking about it on these boards. Could you just paint the mirror to match the walls?

I am not an expert,( just a crafty type person) but I would mask the bathroom, and give the mirror lp a light spray with with a car undercoat spray to give the new paint a key - and then paint it with whatever you want. Make sure that the glass is extremely clean first - give it a scrub with detergent, rinse and then a good polish with a clean cloth and vinegar.

Thinking again about what I have heard on this board, I think there are some PWD who are quite happy chattering to the other person in the mirror,unnerving for the watcher, but OK for the PWD?

Re Donepezil - MIL has just had it prescribed. She has to have an ECG and a blood test before she can have it. I have the leaflet from the memory clinic in front of me - it says 'it starts to work within a couple of weeks or so..." There are seven side effects listed -shortly Headaches,Loss of appetite,dizziness,nausea & vomiting, Diarrhoea, sleep disturbance, and seizures (uncommon) There are a few more things if she is on other drugs.

Obviously, we have no direct experience yet, but I thought that may help.

Yes mom had the ecg and blood tests, we then got the final diagnosis of mixed dementia, alzheimers with vascular dementia.

Spookily I just bought some spray paint for the mirror, says it does ceramics as well as metal and wood, no mention of glass/mirrors but I guess they don't see this as a potential market. Ceramics... glass close enough to give it a go.

 

[maximus1958]

Thanks Again

Again thank you for all the replies. I am going to give the ceramic spray paint a go. I will let you know if it works.

 

[love.dad.but..]

Dad had a similar problem with mirrors and 'all these people' 'where's that bloke' but when I looked a free him before he became looked after in ca re, the main problem was when I was driving with him in the passenger seat ...he continually looked in the wing mirror getting agitated that the car behind was there following us again...different days different cars same delusion...made for a very long torture journey! Can't take your wing mirror off much as I felt like it many times!

 

[nitram]

If you have not sprayed paint before try a practice on anything glass, eg bottle, don't get too near the object, don't spray to much at once just let it mist onto the surface and dry before spraying again, then do it again, and again, until you have sufficient coverage.

Use masking tape and newspaper to protect all the surroundings.

Clean the surface first with both a detergent and a degreaseant (meths?) before spraying.

 

[Jasmine123]

My mum would have long chats with mirrors everywhere. I think she liked the company so we never obscured the mirrors. One time we got into a lift at my sisters flat and she smiled at our reflections. after visiting my sister and getting back in the lift, my mum saw our reflections, smiled and exclaimed 'still here!'

Would also scare me at times, when I was sat by the front window and it and as dark outside and my mum was chatting to me, then looked up, saw her reflection and smiled. Terrified me into thinking someone was outside, looking in

 

[Sam Luvit]

Hi

If you google "glass manifestation", you will get lots of ideas. You can do circles (link below), or Dolphins, birds etc & make a picture.

Manifestation is used in offices, shops etc, to stop people walking into glass walks, but can also be used as a design.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Profession...87105823&sr=8-58&keywords=glass+manifestation

 

[maximus1958]

The paint didnt work

Sorry its been so long in giving an update but as everyone on here will know a lot of challenges come along very quickly. Anyway I tried the paint but I just could not get an even finish and in some places where there was obviously some substance on the mirror despite rigorous cleaning, that the paint would not adhere to it.

I have now coated the mirror in white fablon. It wasn't as difficult as I thought and has gone on well and more importantly done the job. No more young girl sleeping in the bathroom and the anxiety that was causing my mother.

So I would recommend the fablon.

Now all I have to do is to work out how to stop the people escaping through the window and somehow locking it from the outside and magically replacing the cellotape mum has put over the handles to stop people coming in.

You do have to smile