The sunshine effect

CollegeGirl

Registered User
Jan 19, 2011
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North East England
Dad has left me a telephone message asking me to research whether the hot sunshine beating down on mam's head might be increasing her aggression. That's all. No further info to say whether the agression is worse when she's actually in the sun, or whether he means in general.

Mam has extremely thin hair and refuses to wear a hat, either in the sun or when it's cold. I bought him some scalp spray (for in the sun) but naturally she refuses to let him spray it on her head, either. So I'm not looking for solutions, this time, but other people's experiences.

Does anyone else observe any adverse effects from or in the sunshine, please?
 

zelana

Registered User
Feb 11, 2013
127
0
N E Lincs
Sorry CG no personal experience but being a curious soul I thought I'd google 'sunshine and dementia' and this link came up. Going by it's name it seems to suggest that sunlight promotes happy feelings not aggression but then maybe it only works for some dementia patients.
 

Cfduti

Registered User
May 13, 2013
68
0
I agonise somewhat over posting on this, hence a preface. If nothing else it may push someone into deeper comments.
When I get angry I get hot.
If it's hot anyway the relationship of raised body temp, flushed skin, can be more apparent. I tend to feel pain with anger and the anger itself is painful and begets pain; they go together in a cycle.. It can be a mental pain as well as physical.
This febrile mind body phenomenon can be soothed.
When a lemon is held under water in a bowl and the skin of the lemon scored not cut till the water is somewhat cloudy a pair of long socks are soaked in it and the water squeezed out and the socks put on the feet. Please don't take the following seriously as it is inappropriate but kinda hints at what I'm getting at, if it was summer and my kids were having a blarney I'd seriously think about chucking a bucket of cold water over them!
Similarly the mind can be soothed. I'd explore to see if there is any particular foci of 'pain' starting with the physical and contemplate appropriate soothing. -hot-pain-anger-hot-...chill ? I haven't tried it but I've read that a cup of tea is cooling. Who knows. I don't know. It must be exhausting to be so angry so much.
 

Bumblegirl

Registered User
Nov 17, 2012
86
0
Hi CG,

Sorry but I have no experience of this. Probably best to keep her out of direct sunlight as much as possible, particularly with thinned hair - that's not good for anyone, dementia or otherwise.

Take care
BG
 

CollegeGirl

Registered User
Jan 19, 2011
9,525
0
North East England
Sorry CG no personal experience but being a curious soul I thought I'd google 'sunshine and dementia' and this link came up. Going by it's name it seems to suggest that sunlight promotes happy feelings not aggression but then maybe it only works for some dementia patients.

Thank you Zelana, I also thought this was the case, but to be honest it's not so much the light he's thinking of (I presume), but the heat. Like sunstroke, sort of. And maybe the heat on her head increases her aggression? I'm not sure, just guessing that's what he means.
 

CollegeGirl

Registered User
Jan 19, 2011
9,525
0
North East England
I agonise somewhat over posting on this, hence a preface. If nothing else it may push someone into deeper comments.
When I get angry I get hot.
If it's hot anyway the relationship of raised body temp, flushed skin, can be more apparent. I tend to feel pain with anger and the anger itself is painful and begets pain; they go together in a cycle.. It can be a mental pain as well as physical.
This febrile mind body phenomenon can be soothed.
When a lemon is held under water in a bowl and the skin of the lemon scored not cut till the water is somewhat cloudy a pair of long socks are soaked in it and the water squeezed out and the socks put on the feet. Please don't take the following seriously as it is inappropriate but kinda hints at what I'm getting at, if it was summer and my kids were having a blarney I'd seriously think about chucking a bucket of cold water over them!
Similarly the mind can be soothed. I'd explore to see if there is any particular foci of 'pain' starting with the physical and contemplate appropriate soothing. -hot-pain-anger-hot-...chill ? I haven't tried it but I've read that a cup of tea is cooling. Who knows. I don't know. It must be exhausting to be so angry so much.

Thank you, cfduti. I'm a bit confused about your post. Do you mean that it might be mam's anger that makes her hot, rather than the heat causing her anger? I'm not sure if she is hot in herself, I will have to ask dad.
 

CollegeGirl

Registered User
Jan 19, 2011
9,525
0
North East England
Hi CG,

Sorry but I have no experience of this. Probably best to keep her out of direct sunlight as much as possible, particularly with thinned hair - that's not good for anyone, dementia or otherwise.

Take care
BG

Thank you BG, that's good advice for us all - I have thin hair after losing a lot through my first pregnancy, but at least I'm aware of it and take measures. A few years ago my scalp got sunburned and it was one of the most painful things I've ever had. I never want to go through that again.

Poor mam doesn't have that awareness. Going out together is one of the last pleasures my parents have, although things are often difficult.

It's so hard, isn't it?
 

zelana

Registered User
Feb 11, 2013
127
0
N E Lincs
Thank you Zelana, I also thought this was the case, but to be honest it's not so much the light he's thinking of (I presume), but the heat. Like sunstroke, sort of. And maybe the heat on her head increases her aggression? I'm not sure, just guessing that's what he means.

Thinking about it you could well be right about the heat increasing her aggression. My Mum isn't aggressive but a few weeks ago when we went to see her on a hot day she was unable to settle. I think the longest she stayed in one place was when she was drinking a cup of tea. We more or less had to follow her all over the care home. She wears multiple layers of clothes so must have been boiling and it was definitely affecting her behaviour.
 

Cfduti

Registered User
May 13, 2013
68
0
You're welcome. I'm suggesting, as I see others are but more practically, I think, : I experience anger as a 'hot emotion' associated with a mental or physical discomfort so I reason that external conditions can aggravate this.
 
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Barry

Registered User
Oct 14, 2006
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Indonesia
Hi CollageGirl

I for one having had dementia for now almost 9 years can utterly concur with your thread and the Sunshine effect.
As living out here in Indonesia most days we do have extremely hot harsh sunlight which at times I do find very draining on my illness which can then make me very irritable although not aggressive in the physical meaning of the word but it can make me snappy or verbally aggressive, so when we go for our late afternoon walk Sumi insists that I wear a hat and she avoids taking me out during midday when the sun is very hot...

But have you considered that the problem could also be from Sundowning as that’s a time when some people with dementia can become aggressive and difficult to cope with which is what happens to me once the sun starts it’s decent towards the horizon and can be extremely harsh...
 

CollegeGirl

Registered User
Jan 19, 2011
9,525
0
North East England
Thank you Barry, that's very helpful indeed. I'll pass on your comments to my dad.

With sundowning, I'm not too sure whether the sun going down affects my mam so much, because actually her most aggressive time is on a morning. It's strange, isn't it, how people are affected differently?

Thank you again.
 

Barry

Registered User
Oct 14, 2006
1,898
0
77
Indonesia
Although its called "Sundowning" which refers to the end of the day it can effect people at any time of the day and even in the very early morning as in "Sunrising" :eek:
 

kingmidas1962

Registered User
Jun 10, 2012
3,534
0
South Gloucs
My mum (depression and anxiety, not dementia) becomes exhausted and drained by the sun and heat in general. When she's out and about she keeps in the shade, but also carries an umbrella which might get her some funny looks but does the trick.

A friend of mine who has a physical disability finds her temper tested in the hot weather too, so it does seem there could be a link between heat and mood. She's a primary school teacher and finds her patience was much thinner in that heatwave we just had!

She uses a cooling aerosol spray which you can buy in major chemists
 

stillcaring

Registered User
Sep 4, 2011
215
0
My mum (87, AD) feels the cold terribly and is much more active in the hot weather. It makes her feel she can do more which sometimes leads to conflict. For example the other day in Sainsburys she didn't like my choice of queue and after I'd got my trolleyful of food on one checkout belt took her little basket to an adjacent queue. Inevitably I was still packing mine when she got to the front of her queue and didn't understand how to pay for hers... Which all causes aggro and stress. Generally she's just got more get up and go in the heat and that makes her do more confused things.
 

CollegeGirl

Registered User
Jan 19, 2011
9,525
0
North East England
Thank you everyone. I've managed to pass on your comments to dad and he was pleased to hear your thoughts and experiences. I think the upshot is for mam to stay out of the hot sun!

Many thanks all xx
 

worriedson1

Registered User
Jan 30, 2012
1,837
0
Sorry CG no personal experience but being a curious soul I thought I'd google 'sunshine and dementia' and this link came up. Going by it's name it seems to suggest that sunlight promotes happy feelings not aggression but then maybe it only works for some dementia patients.

The Heatwave we have just had, had a WONDERFUL affect on my mother, she was very alert, i even at times forget she had dementia, was remarkable.
 

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