It's nice for young people, but not so good for old people in a dementia home.
This post is really just to share my worries, but any replies will be welcome. If not, thanks for reading.
I went in on Monday & noticed that Mum was very hot. One of the carers reminded me that Mum's nighties are all very warm & thick & I remembered that I'd rescued a cotton nightie from a rubbish pile in her shed and washed it, and went home to get it. (But in fact I discovered later that Mum just used her usual solution - strip naked at night time...) On my way out the second time, I mentioned my worry about the heat to a carer and she said there was an electric fan she could have.
Today, I went in with a new short-sleeved cotton nightie I'd bought for her & found her in bed and very under the weather. The electric fan was by her bed & I put it on, but was alarmed by Mum's decline in cognitive skills.
The carers said she'd been complaining of a pain in her side - which felt hard to them - and they suspected constipation. The doctor will be coming tomorrow lunchtime. I got Mum up & changed her into the nightie, which looks very like a summer dress & was preferable to the long sleeved polo shirt and aertex vest she was dressed in - I suspect she'd dressed herself this morning.
I got her to drink a glass of dilute orange juice & nearly all of a cup of tea with sugar but I had to urge her to drink the whole time. When I finally got her to go to the loo, I noticed that her urine was very dark, confirming my idea that it's dehydration in the heat that's caused the problem, which may be a UTI as well as constipation - Mum has been a sufferer from cystitis all her life. I showed the carer the evidence and explained about the cystitis.
She was very lacklustre at first when I read to her from the memory books but after the drink seemed to perk up a bit. I rang up after tea - Mum had eaten a little, but not much, but when I said again about the possible dehydration, the carer said they'd test for a UTI and also 'push fluids'.
I'll ring tomorrow morning, and again after the doctor's been, and go in tomorrow afternoon, but for now I've done all I can do.
All the same, I can't help worrying - though I feel a lot better now I've told you all about it.
Even when the loved one is in a care home, the carer can never really switch off...
This post is really just to share my worries, but any replies will be welcome. If not, thanks for reading.
I went in on Monday & noticed that Mum was very hot. One of the carers reminded me that Mum's nighties are all very warm & thick & I remembered that I'd rescued a cotton nightie from a rubbish pile in her shed and washed it, and went home to get it. (But in fact I discovered later that Mum just used her usual solution - strip naked at night time...) On my way out the second time, I mentioned my worry about the heat to a carer and she said there was an electric fan she could have.
Today, I went in with a new short-sleeved cotton nightie I'd bought for her & found her in bed and very under the weather. The electric fan was by her bed & I put it on, but was alarmed by Mum's decline in cognitive skills.
The carers said she'd been complaining of a pain in her side - which felt hard to them - and they suspected constipation. The doctor will be coming tomorrow lunchtime. I got Mum up & changed her into the nightie, which looks very like a summer dress & was preferable to the long sleeved polo shirt and aertex vest she was dressed in - I suspect she'd dressed herself this morning.
I got her to drink a glass of dilute orange juice & nearly all of a cup of tea with sugar but I had to urge her to drink the whole time. When I finally got her to go to the loo, I noticed that her urine was very dark, confirming my idea that it's dehydration in the heat that's caused the problem, which may be a UTI as well as constipation - Mum has been a sufferer from cystitis all her life. I showed the carer the evidence and explained about the cystitis.
She was very lacklustre at first when I read to her from the memory books but after the drink seemed to perk up a bit. I rang up after tea - Mum had eaten a little, but not much, but when I said again about the possible dehydration, the carer said they'd test for a UTI and also 'push fluids'.
I'll ring tomorrow morning, and again after the doctor's been, and go in tomorrow afternoon, but for now I've done all I can do.
All the same, I can't help worrying - though I feel a lot better now I've told you all about it.
Even when the loved one is in a care home, the carer can never really switch off...
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