86 year old cooking on the stove, but there’s nothing in the pot. Is this a sign of Alzheimer’s?

I don’t know. I am not educated enough about ALZ. My mom has Parkinson’s. Those with experiences in this area will help guide you in the right direction.

You say, part time? She’s burning pots and left alone? Oh no! Hell no! She isn’t safe.

Does she have family? Call family or anyone involved in her care and tell them about this immediately. This is a safety issue.

Best at of luck to you and the patient.

This could be the beginning stages of dementia. Is this the only thing you've noticed? This alone is odd but if it's the only thing you've noticed then it could be something else.

I once put the kettle on for a cup of tea and went to the other room. After a while I wondered why the kettle had not whistled. I went to the kitchen. The stove burner was on but no kettle on it. I searched around and found the kettle in the fridge. I was in my twenties at the time.

So, depending on whether your mom is doing other odd things this could simply be a case of absentmindedness. Keep an eye on it though.

Definitely this is a sign of Dementia. This woman can no longer be by herself.

I went through this with Luz. I found the burners turned on but only one was lit. The other was just hissing gas. That is when I removed the knobs from the stove.
She some other kitchen adventures. She knew that coffee in the pot had to be poured but she forgot the cup and poured coffee onto the counter, twice before she quit that. She forgot how to set the micro wave and blew up a cup of coffee.
She would drink the worcestershire sauce straight from the bottle until I hid it.
She had other strange things with food. Luckily I was at home with her. She could not be left alone, so when I needed togoto the store I would hire a companion to sit with her.

It's definitely a sign of something which you need to report immediately to whoever is responsible for your client's care. Are you in touch with anyone in her family, are you employed by an agency? - speak up as soon as you can, whoever it's to.

Although this behavior can be caused by lack of sleep, meds, UTI, I would really tell somebody in charge because it could be dementia which most likely is but she needs to be check out by a physician.

In my twenties I had insomnia and I put my car keys in the fridge, milk in the oven. Finally went to sleep and when I woke up I thought somebody else did it. I came to realize that it was me because there was no body else there. I lived alone! The things we do when we don't get enough sleep. LOL!

You are really a blessing to her! You’re working more than you can report and are concerned enough to ask for help here. I wish more caregivers were as concerned as you are. I’m not sure who is “allowing” only 94 hours a month...the family? Medicaid? If you have reported her behavior to your supervisor and that’s their response, I would suggest trying to get ahold of the daughter, either by phone or in writing, and express your concerns. You could phrase it so she doesn’t think you’re just trying to get more hours $ for yourself, but are genuinely concerned for your lady. Just because daughter works, doesn’t mean she should remain uninformed of the situation. Does she ever visit? If so, and you know she’s coming, maybe you could speak privately to her face to face. In the meantime, can you disable her stove?

That is definitely a sign of dementia. That's really dangerous not only to her but those living close by if she starts a fire on the stove. We turned off the breaker for the stove, just left her with a kettle and microwave.

Yes, this, memory issues, and the personal hygiene decline are signs that she should not be alone. I once found my mom cooking the dog food for herself. Yuk. At least she added some beans to it. I was living with her, but she still did things like this when I wasn't looking directly at what she was doing. The stove is very dangerous for people with dementia. Your lady might have to go into assisted living if she can't get 24 hour care. I suggest you let the daughter know how serious you are finding the situation.

Have her use the microwave instead.

If you are a private hire by family, there is little protection for the lady or for you. You did not mention the type of employment situation. Licensed or accredited agencies require charting of work/intervention performed after each visit. Behaviors would also be charted and submitted to a supervisor. You would also be charting your hours worked and there would be a paycheck system that also tracks you work time. You have not clarified what your hire status is.
If the lady is capable and willing I would try to place a call to the adult children. In the course of this discussion I would gently bring up the issue. Nobody can legally prevent her from calling her family. When adult children live far away and an agency is involved in her care, they expect the agency to act immediately. They may also be in denial and deciding someone is over reacting to her "off" behavior.

Adult Protective Services will intervene, if notified. That will put the ball in everyone's court - any agency, family, you. Everyone will get on the same page.

In our area if a caretaker is known to have had knowledge of a dangerous situation, such as what you are describing, family and law can be very unforgiving. You "allowed" this to persist - unless you have documentation reflecting otherwise.

Agencies and families scramble to assign responsibility to someone for allowing such a dangerous situation to continue. In our community, news articles almost always name the caretaker as the person arrested or fined for allowing this to persist. This person may get relief if employed by a reputable agency, but usually the immediate caretaker is swept into the mess no matter who is finally determined to be at fault.

Additionally, the bad guy - in this case you- typically faces future legal and future employment problems. If you're not with an agency it's especially important that you remove yourself from this situation entirely. Call Adult Protective Services ASAP.

Please call the county.  She needs intervention for her own safety.   Plain and simple.

YIKES... I would definitely report it. Meanwhile take the knobs off the stove and hide them. Microwave not safe either she could put foil/metal in it by mistake that is not good! She could also be letting people in the house that is not safe.

overthehill, regarding your client misusing the microwave for popping popcorn, why don’t you buy her the huge bags of pre-popped popcorn so she doesn’t have to navigate using the microwave?

Additionally, since she seems to like crunchy treats (and it doesn’t sound like choking while eating is yet a concern) perhaps you could lay in a supply of crunchy foods which don’t require stove or microwave cooking: bite-size shredded wheat, Cheerios, puffed cereals, crunchy crackers to eat with pre-cubed cheese, etc...

Luckily, nutrition doesn’t seem to be a problem, but burning down the house is an immediate must-be-stopped problem. I trust she has working fire and smoke detectors?

Many, many families are in denial about how much care someone with dementia requires. In my opinion, APS is like the nuclear option. Some counties have great APS and others report them to be nearly useless doing little besides pointing fingers and judging living conditions.

"Son is out of state and will not help. Daughter has to work to support herself and is a few hours away." The sad fact is that most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Most Americans have not saved for retirement. Many Americans are choosing between putting food on the table and gas in the tank. The son and daughter may not be in denial but rather be struggling themselves to keep their noses above water.

I would document your concerns. Take pictures of the burned pots, popcorn, soiled clothing, etc. Show and discuss the pictures with your supervisor and come up with a plan. Your supervisor may decide APS has to be called. Before calling, I would want to know exactly what APS can do to help this woman.

Gut reaction...(and I seem to be having a few of them today)..
This woman should not be left alone.
The stove should be "disabled" if she is alone.
If you can not disable the stove totally then remove the knobs so she can not turn it on.
You should discuss this with the doctor as soon as possible but if it will be a while then you should report this to your supervisor (should do that as well) so that you have alerted your "superiors" to a potentially hazardous situation.
Unfortunately many people will only act after a catastrophic event. ("we" ..people tend to be REactive not a PROactive ) No one wants to admit that their loved one is declining or needs help.
But seeing what you are seeing in order to protect your client as well as the agency you need to report ASAP you observations. And if this is a decline since she was first evaluated for service then this is an indication of a decline that the agency should be made aware of simply because she may need more care than you are able to give. (24/7 not just a few hours daily)

Has she been evaluated for Alzheimer's. Is she on medication that may interfere with her memory?

Is there family you can discuss your concerns with?

Unfortunately yes! I had to move my elderly Aunt for almost the same reason, this kind of behavior can cause a house fire, which could be fatal for her! Pray all goes well when she has to be moved!

Three signs that a person can no longer safely live alone: 1. The begin to wander. 2. They leave doors unlocked where they go out or at night. 3. They forget what they are doing and leave pots on the stove to burn.

Probably these are signs of encroaching dementia. They are definitely signs that the person shouldn't be on their own.

No matter what you call it, it is no longer safe. If you are not a family member, you need to contact a family member. If you are a family member, arrange full time care as quickly as possible and then contact her doctor.

DANGER ! Disable her stove no matter who you are and why you were there and even if she protests. Then get help.

She needs to see a neurologist and be tested to determine what’s going on. Can u take knobs odd of stove?

She is not safe alone. Please contact her family members, about the behavior and your concerns. In the meantime, perhaps you could un-plug the stove for her safety.

I shouldnt have said "perhaps" PLEASE unplug/disable the stove.

My Mom lost sense of smell, which I understand is common for memory loss/dementia.

I came home from being gone all day to a house filled with gas from the stove. Mom loves candles, too. I took the knobs off. Mom wasn’t happy.

Another instance...she left a gallon of milk in her trunk. We couldn’t figure out at first what the smell was. I thought it could’ve been some wet clothes. It became SO strong and Mom could not smell it.

I took Mom to get an MRI. Mild Cognitive Impairment identified and told to prepare for the worst.

I would absolutely get her checked out, the sooner the better. Maybe you could call the local Alzheimer's Association and/or Senior Services in your area, as well as her family, to see if they could expedite things. A friend's father has Alzheimer's and  when he lived with her, (he's now in Assisted Living/ Memory Care),he tried to put an aluminum pot in the microwave. My friend stopped him just in time. My mom lived with us, when she had Alzheimer's. I didn't realize how bad off she was, until she tried to make a cup of coffee putting frozen peppers in the cup instead of instant coffee. The kitchen was off limits to her after that. I told her that I'd just cook, since I liked doing it more than she did, and she was happy with that. Shortly after this pepper episode, we were driving past a friend's house, and my mom saw the lights on but no car in the driveway, and she said, "The lights are on, but nobody's home" Exactly. I've even written a  book about our experience taking care of my mom called, "My Mother Has Alzheimer's and My Dog has Tapeworms: A Caregiver's Tale." Luckily, we didn't have kitchen issues the way you did, but the kitchen can be a dangerous place for someone  who might be having memory issues.  You're not only dealing with a stove, but knives as well. She might cut herself, and not know what to do after that, or put something in the oven, forget to set a timer, and then you can have smoke everywhere, or worse.  You're a nice person to be a caregiver, and an even nicer one to go one step further to ask for advice.

Unplug stove if it's electric so she doesn't burn herself and the house down! Immediately contact her relative and let them know she can no longer be left alone. This is a tragedy waiting to happen.
People with dementia have no concept of time and she could be there in the middle of the night thinking she's cooking something and start a fire or even die from smoke inhalation!
I can't believe some of the stuff I read on here.

Like caregivers don't have a clue what kind of danger they put their relative or loved one in by allowing or overlooking dangerous or destructive behaviour. It's like the person closest to the problem can't see it!
I know my dad didn't realize my mom was slipping badly until I pointed it out to him. often the spouse is The last one to figure it out.
Don't ignore odd behavior in elderly family or friends. One in three people over 80 have Alzheimer or dementia of some type now. It's an epidemic!

My Great-Aunt used to do that - she was boiling water for instant coffee and then would forget. You need to alert someone to this because it could cause a fire one day. That was what it took to have my Great-Aunt moved to a Nursing Home.

My mom with Alzheimer's, who passed in 2007 at 85, had begun cooking things in the oven on paper plates. We took all the knobs off. My brother-in-law also disabled her car. She was very angry that her car would not start. Little by little things were taken away from her, but there was no help for it. She did a lot of things others have mentioned in these posts. Hers was quite advanced by that time, and your lady is probably in the mid stages. Just my opinion, and good luck with her family. It is the greatest heartache a family can imagine.

Very good possibility!
In any event, her safety is threatened. Get her help.