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Scottyops Asked December 2015

My Mother (75) insists she sees people in her house but no one is there. Any advice?

My mother has been married for 56 years to her husband. He died in August this year and as of the last 2 weeks she has been seeing and insisting that ther are people in her house. There is really no one there, I don't know what to do? Please help me.

Eyerishlass Dec 2015
You've gotten some great advice. Can I throw my two cents worth in?

Try not to argue with your mom about these people she's seeing. To her they're very real. Try not to insist that there's no one there. Comfort her. Make her feel safe. Reassure her. Don't agree with her but validate her concerns. "Mom, I don't see anyone. What did they look like?" Or "All the doors and windows are locked, Mom. I've checked and re-checked."

You know she's hallucinating but she doesn't realize it and that can be very scary for someone.

And as the others said, get her to the Dr.

Sunnygirl1 Dec 2015
I agree. I would have her checked out medically to determine the cause. I would do that immediately.

Not only are the hallucinations potentially scary to the person, but they could cause them to do something that could put them at risk. We have a family friend who was having hallucinations. The family took him to the doctor and it was thought it was due to him taking too much cold medicine, but that was not it. He continued to have them. He thought that there were several children inside his home creating a racket. They bothered him to the point that he walked down the street to get away from them. While walking, he fell and fractured his hip. He has not fared well since. He's unresponsive and will accept no nutrition. There was a trickle down affect.

I would address it immediately.

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jeannegibbs Dec 2015
Seeing things that aren't there is called hallucinating. There can be a number of causes. One common cause is a urinary tract infection (uti). (This symptom applies in elders, only.) My aunt lived to be 100 and the only time she hallucinated was when she had a uti. The uti was treated and cleared up; the hallucinations never came back.

Hallucinating is an early symptom in some kinds of dementia. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about that, but it is worth knowing.

Hallucinating is not a general symptom of mourning or of old age. I suggest you get Mom to a doctor. Make notes of anything else unusual going on in her behavior.

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