She puts them in random places sometimes like puzzles boxes or wrapped up in tissues. Yuck! I wondered about putting a sign telling her Don’t take your teeth out. Has anyone tried reminders using signs? Do they help?
My mom is a compulsive list maker to which, once she's written down the salient info, she promptly loses the list, or 'reminder'. Now she has 2 problems. What was the original 'thought/need' and where did she put the paper to remind her? Her kitchen table is covered ( and mean over 100, at any given time) with those free pads of paper that charities send out. Her handwriting is so bad now--(she's 91) you cannot read it--so writing things down doesn't help. Also, her purse and 2 walker bags are both jam packed with junk. One more note reminding her of something would be adding to the mess that already exists.
She cannot lift her head above 4'-and that's a stretch--so all pictures and notes, if posted, are at my waist level. And she ignores them.
IF she were more cognizzant of things, I think a big calendar posted where it's eaily seen might help, but in her case, nothing works. We missed the switch over to a huge calendar a couple years ago...it DID work, but we didn't 'renew' it once year and by the time that was noticed, she had forgotten to look at each day.
The ONLY things she remembers are Drs appts and Tuesday Bingo. Every other day just blends into all the rest.
We're fortunate that she has not had any kitchen fires. She's aware that if that happens we have to reopen the NH discussion with her.
Of course it will work... but you'll have to put up another sign asking her to read it, and another sign to... My dad loves to leave the tap running - I put a big red sign right above saying "TURN OFF". Absolutely pointless! A friend in the industry recalled an attempt to make light switches clearer by making them red against the white walls. No one even touched them because they thought they were alarms! The best solution I have found is similar to dealing with autism: have a routine which is rehearsed and followed to the minutest detail - avoid any reasoning as to the efficacy since that will only complicate matters. Once/if embedded, the process should run without any conscious input (and not because it registers beyond B follows A). The aim is not to gain functional awareness but just to make your task a little easier (reducing the variables). This has proven useful for toileting routines also, but still expect some gremlins.
Putting up signs may give you temporary relief because at least you'll have tried. It will not make a ha'p'orth of difference to what your mother does with her teeth.
You could give her a pretty pot to put her teeth in. If it's attractive and easy for her to reach she might mostly/occasionally/once put her denture(s) in it. It isn't really the yuk factor that matters so much as the risk of her dentures getting thrown out with the garbage.
Has anyone checked her mouth to see if anything is making the denture uncomfortable? A good rinse after meals and snacks might be helpful, too.
Most likely, nothing will help but you could try taking her to the bathroom to brush them after lunch. She may have been taking them out for years in the afternoon. Perhaps get her a nice reservoir to soak them in. If it’s new activity, they may be bothering her and she simply takes them out to be more comfortable.
It won't make a difference. Her mind does not work logically anymore. Reminders can be for gotten in seconds. First things to go is short-term memory. The ability to reason and comprehend and process what is being said. The less words used the better.
When my Mom was in the hospital I asked that no one talk to her about her care because she would not understand what she was saying. When I went to visit, I found 2 student nurses telling Mom about a test she was to be given. I could tell from Moms face they lost her after the first word. And told them that. She could no longer process what was being said to her.
There is no rhyme or reason to Dementia. You will never get ahead of it.
She cannot lift her head above 4'-and that's a stretch--so all pictures and notes, if posted, are at my waist level. And she ignores them.
IF she were more cognizzant of things, I think a big calendar posted where it's eaily seen might help, but in her case, nothing works. We missed the switch over to a huge calendar a couple years ago...it DID work, but we didn't 'renew' it once year and by the time that was noticed, she had forgotten to look at each day.
The ONLY things she remembers are Drs appts and Tuesday Bingo. Every other day just blends into all the rest.
We're fortunate that she has not had any kitchen fires. She's aware that if that happens we have to reopen the NH discussion with her.
My dad loves to leave the tap running - I put a big red sign right above saying "TURN OFF". Absolutely pointless!
A friend in the industry recalled an attempt to make light switches clearer by making them red against the white walls. No one even touched them because they thought they were alarms!
The best solution I have found is similar to dealing with autism: have a routine which is rehearsed and followed to the minutest detail - avoid any reasoning as to the efficacy since that will only complicate matters. Once/if embedded, the process should run without any conscious input (and not because it registers beyond B follows A). The aim is not to gain functional awareness but just to make your task a little easier (reducing the variables).
This has proven useful for toileting routines also, but still expect some gremlins.
You could give her a pretty pot to put her teeth in. If it's attractive and easy for her to reach she might mostly/occasionally/once put her denture(s) in it. It isn't really the yuk factor that matters so much as the risk of her dentures getting thrown out with the garbage.
Has anyone checked her mouth to see if anything is making the denture uncomfortable? A good rinse after meals and snacks might be helpful, too.
If it’s new activity, they may be bothering her and she simply takes them out to be more comfortable.
When my Mom was in the hospital I asked that no one talk to her about her care because she would not understand what she was saying. When I went to visit, I found 2 student nurses telling Mom about a test she was to be given. I could tell from Moms face they lost her after the first word. And told them that. She could no longer process what was being said to her.
There is no rhyme or reason to Dementia. You will never get ahead of it.
“That sign applies to me.”
”That sign applies to right now.”
Both of these are brain processes that don’t apply to my mother any longer.
Also, peripheral vision changes.
My mother doesn’t even see a lot of the notes she still writes to herself.