My grandma has early signs of dementia. She is usually very up beat and happy, very conscious to keep moving whilst quarantined. She does forget about the current situation and watches the news and gets very distressed, generally she does forget things and asks questions repeatedly. She has started to wake up from naps distressed so we stopped her watching the news throughout the day. She has now begun waking up distressed saying her legs are very itchy and on fire we think this is related to her dementia as she seems fine after a while (after given paracetamol) and if she gets distracted. Often she forgets about this the next day and denies that it happened. She demands we call the doctor and says she needs to be taken to the hospital, we try to explain that this cannot happen because of covid 19 but she insists we call the doctor for a solution, the recommended advice being give her paracetamol. This has happened for two weeks now. Has anyone experienced this problem or if you can offer support explain how to alleviate their concerns and try and calm them down. Thanks in advance
Waking up from naps distressed
- Thread starter Zarab
- Start date
Hi @Zarab. Are your grandma's legs very dry? If so, you could try very gently rubbing some moisturising lotion into them (best to wear gloves if you have any). Elderly skin can be really dry and itchy or sore and it might help. Look out for any rashes which you might want to ask a GP or pharmacist about. As for waking up distressed, that may be down to general confusion about where she is, what time of day it is, who is there and who is not and so on. Reassurance and distraction (favourite calming music for example) and something familiar like a cup of tea may help.
Using moisturising cream is a good idea - I have some cream that I use on OH as he is prone to eczema. Perhaps you could use the moisturiser when she wakes up and is saying her legs itch and feel on fire - it could just be the thing that calms her down because you are doing something and the cream is very soothing. If she still wants to see a doctor, tell her that the doctor said to use it, which may reassure her.
Please keep an eye on the itchy legs. This can be a symptom of iron deficiency. Not saying that is the case here and the advice given so far is spot on but this became the first indicator of iron problems in my mother-in-law.
Similar threads
