What risk prevention measures have you had to take in the home?

I would consider what she uses to pay for anything and have concern in that area. I had a great deal of frustration with that issue. I have also read of many others here who dealt with great problems regarding spending and not paying bills.

Did the doc test her for a UTI? Infections of any sort can cause dementia like symptoms in the elderly. Elderly can have a UTI and often do not experience the pain and other symptoms associated with them.

I lowered the temp on the water heater when she forgot how to adjust the temps. She was burning once and only once before I did that. No injuries.
Removed knobs from gas stove after she turned them on once. One was lit, the other wasn't.
As she got worse and wandered off once, while I was in the shower, I put extra locks on the doors and added alarms.
Initially I had to hide her car keys.
I have to administer her meds as much as possible.
Now I must bathe and help her dress.
And it will get worse.

You can install a camera system in the home that connects to your cell phone for around $100.00 to purchase the cameras. That way you can peek in while you're away.

Her blood sugar levels will have a lot to do with her mental state. Worked with a guy that we were aware that if he started talking weird and got lethargic we were to call the ambulance. The stroke may not have helped either. Could be a temporary thing. I would ask she be tested for UTI.
If you are the one who will have to assist her, ask for a "hat" or buy one. It sits on the toilet seat. They pee in it and then you just pour it into the jar they give you.

Did they do any bloodwork on Mom? If not, she should have a work up. An MRI or Catscan will show if she had a stroke.

I find it funny, literally, that your priority was preventing "random downloads". What exactly does she download that you are worried about. ;) Instead of taking away her phone and tablet, why don't you just net nanny it. You don't even need special software for that. Just set the DNS to a net nanny DNS and she won't be able to go to "bad" places. Considering that mental stimulation is the only thing found to help with dementia, I would reconsider taking away a source of mental stimulation. You want her brain to stay active to stave off atrophy. A tablet is a great way of doing that.

A few of the things I've done is... One, I installed automatic faucets. After the second time grandma overflowed the sink by sticking a rubber basin over the sink and walking away with the water running, I decided to deal with it once and for all. You don't even need any plumbing skills. There are screw on devices that replace the aerator that turn it into a automatic faucet just like at public restrooms.

Two, I installed rails all around the house for fall prevention. It's exactly like it sounds. I put rails on every wall so when the refuse to use a walker, there's always a rail at hand. It wasn't that hard to do. I did have to figure out how to make sections quick removable so that I could open up cabinets.

Three, I've rigged the kitchen to avoid burning down the house. Once again, it was grandma. She decided to make soup at 3am but forgot all about it and went back to her room. I woke up to the smoke detector. So I replaced the regular stove with an induction unit. Not only are they safer since they don't get hot, but they will detect overheat conditions and shut themselves down. You can also set up appliances to go off automatically if they detect that no one is standing there after a few minutes. So if there's no one in the kitchen they will shut themselves off.

Excellent topic. Will be reading. Thank you.

The hard thing with seniors is that UTI does not create the same symptoms as it does when younger, she has 2 of the most common symptoms seen in seniors, 1 - sudden onset of dementia like behavior 2 - off smelling urine.

Get her checked and keep an eye on it, incontinence is a huge factor for causing UTIs.

You are so smart to get ahead of this issue!!! My DH likes to prowl around the house in the middle of the night opening doors, cabinets, fridge, turning on lights & water, changing clothes 20 times, opening bags & cans of food in the pantry. Basically, in order for me to get any sleep, I had to baby proof the house: child locks on cabinets, special locks on exterior doors, screen door safety latches on closets, pantry & every door I don't want him to open, tied fridge door handles shut. I turned off the water to all but two sinks. I hide the car keys, remote controllers, & alarm system key fob. The stove knobs have a child resistant turn on feature. I turned down the water heater. I have LED bulbs in lamps that are never turned off. For me it has been very much about keeping him in & both of us safe. Best of luck to you!

My husband was diagnosed with a progressive cognitive impairment over a year ago. I have changed all interior door knobs to be non-locking; removed knobs from our gas stove when I am not using it; hung reminder signs to turn off faucets when done; put remote controls out of his sight when not using them. A few months ago, he “hid” his wallet in a “safe” place and we couldn’t find it. It had his picture ID, bank cards and insurance cards. It was a hassle to replace everything. So, I recommend you proactively get and keep duplicates in a safe place. It was important to my husband to still have a wallet to carry but now it only has twenty dollars, the duplicate picture ID and his medical insurance cards so he can show them at doctors visits. I am looking into getting a sounding device for our exterior doors so I know if they are being opened without having to set our security alarm. I hope this helps and I look forward to reading ideas that others post.

Good topic. My wife has mild to moderate dementia, type 1 diabetes, and a whole host of other health issues, and she falls a lot too. We are both retired and 70 years old. My health is good. Things I've done in the home include; Hand rails everywhere needed (bathtub, toilet-side, etc.), safety rail on the bed, motorized lift chair between first and second floor, walkers upstairs and downstairs, and got rid of toaster oven as she once nearly caused a house fire (replaced with a normal toaster). Remove candles and matches (another near disaster). I handle her meds and sugar-level testing and insulin injections as she started to have difficulty and was making mistakes. After her car sat unused for 2 years, I jumped at the opportunity to sell it the minute she agreed she could no longer drive. I do the cooking as she was concocting some pretty strange recipes and also the danger of fire/burns. I manage her finances for her, but keep her fully informed so she feels involved. I run local errands while she sleeps and have someone with her whenever something takes a longer time (like a respite break for me). I've moved items she frequently needs to lower cabinet shelves for easier access and safety. Someone made the comment about baby-proofing and that's a good analogy. Also, remember to take care of yourself.

Remove all unsafe ingestible items.....especially hand sanitizers! Very dangerous if ingested.

You may need to unplug the microwave and oven/stove. Maybe get a toaster oven and hot plate that only you use, if you can lock them away (or put them in the car) when you're not using them.

Many great ideas here! I think that you need a a cognitive evaluation to see if she has dementia so that you know what lies ahead. If she does have dementia, and she's still driving, you should sell her car and have that out of the way. Will she protest? Probably, but safety for her and others is paramount. I have chimes on the doors and windows and a security system. If a door or window is opened, a chime goes to my cell phone. I've also had security camera installed on the back of our townhouse and a "Ring" type door bell. These are all hooked up to the security system, so if I get an alert that the door is opened, I can check the video to see where my LO is. My LO hasn't been able to use a phone, remote controls or appliance for some time.

Unplug the Toaster! Mom put hot cocoa packets in the toaster. Thank God we saw this before the paper caught fire. When mom’s sodium gets low her dementia like behavior gets 10x worse so watch for sodium levels.

If there is a close neighbor, trusted friend or clergy in the neighborhood ask them to be additional eyes and ears in case your mother decides to leave the house. If she is capable of walking out the door, an ID bracelet could save her life.

I found an item called tiles. They are small key fob type items that I put in moms purse, fanny pack, phone etc so that when she puts them away for safety I can find them with an ap on my phone. This has saved hours of hunting!

Aghhhh! These are all horror stories to me! Funny not funny. And this is what I may have to look forward to?
Last night at 11pm, the police showed up at the house. "Is everything okay? We received a hang up 911 call from this address."
There are some really good ideas to keep in mind here.

I bought covers for the stove knobs. Dad liked to make things line up perfect, as s result of that he turned all the knobs on so that gas was leaking out but the flame wouldn’t light. I was home at the time! My son also took the switches off of his saws, he would go and turn them on to watch them run. I had bought cabinet locks for the chemical cabinet since he liked to plunder and had no idea that he couldn’t drink those. Also he developed pica (putting everything in his mouth) so I really had to watch him at dinner if he had a paper napkin, and at other times since it didn’t seem to matter what it was.

Pull the fuse on the stove so she doesn't start to cook & walk away forgetting it - get kiddy locks on your kitchen cabinets so she can't get to knives, scissors etc that she could use inappropriately

Also check your smoke alarm & co2 detector just in case - anything that you would put in place for a 2 year old is a good start - good luck

Would you want to get one of those super easy for seniors phones for her? For the time being anyhow?
I have a book in my office that is a bit dated but dealt with home safety issues for people with dementia.
Not having read other comments thus far, will say that we had a knox box lock box installed by our fire dept on the outside of our house...only they have the key; the box holds keys to your house so in an emergency they get in faster without busting doors and windows.
That must be such a drag with the gas..would you want to consider a switch to electric so you can just pull the knobs?
Don't forget the microwave if you have one...put it on child mode.
Any risk of wandering?
The local Alzheimer's assn may have a list of safety things you can look out for.

I bought mom a mini Keurig. Posted instructions on wall next to it. She could make coffee, tea, cocoa, and even soup without burning the house down:) She was very good about wearing her Lifeline, but not at all good about pressing it when needed. Also, a baby monitor is helpful in certain situations. If you don't have a fire extinguisher, get one. Many home health companies require one in your home.

Yes...and you might want to check in with an elder law attorney in the meantime to make sure you are doing everything right to protect assets...etc.

Does she wander? If so, get her a wearable tracker (and start looking for a memory care community - it's best to make the move while she's still able to adjust well).

Lock down her finances. She's vulnerable to scammers and her own bad judgement.

Invest in some 'smart home' technology to keep an eye on things when mom is home and you're not; a doorbell that alerts you when someone visits and shows you the visitor, a device that lets you do a video call with mom, smart plugs that let you log on to make sure things are on or off as they should be...

And, again, start looking for a community. The symptoms get worse.

Remove all scatter rugs.
Secure medication.
Turn off gas main.
Install elder handle on tub/shower/toilet

She is no longer acting her physical age, but a 2 year old.

Unless your stove is ancient, it should have removable knobs, for the burners and the oven. My newer range has push buttons for the ovens - but it is marked under the START button - push/hold for 3 seconds to lock/unlock. That would be easier than having to turn the gas off/on (and what if you are in a hurry and forget?)

Microwave - again, unless it is really ancient, they have a safety lock built in! I learned about this when told that mom "locked" her microwave and brother had to "fix" it. My new washer/dryer came with this feature as well (and I use it so the cats are not turning them on when jumping up on them!) Press the STOP/CANCEL button for about 3 seconds to lock or unlock.

Others mentioned the child safety locks - for cabinets and doors. Lock any rooms to prevent access, such as laundry rooms. I would keep all small appliances in the cabinets when not in use. Toasters and coffee makers can start fires too! You might want to consider the outlet plug covers (help prevent them putting bad items into unused outlets.)

Cameras for monitoring can be helpful - we had some to monitor outside/inside the main door and the basement area, just to keep a remote "eye" on mom (or anyone coming there!) We couldn't see everything, but she was not too bad at that point.

Once anyone gets to a certain point, such as those mentioned here, I would not be okay with leaving them unattended, even if it is just to run to the store for milk. Think 2 year old - would you leave them alone sleeping while you run a quick errand? Mom was not that bad yet, but we have no way of knowing when the next shoe will drop, so we had to make that decision to move her to a safe place before she became a hazard to herself.

Get POA if you don’t have it already. It will be needed if/when you need to start paying her bills and making decisions on her behalf.

So what, is she downloading porn? Seriously, set up the tablet or phone with the kid setting to prevent whatever you are concerned about. Think about how you would child proof a house. Look online for suggestions. Some ideas: cover outlets with child proof covers, lock up all medications even the over the counter ones, Tide pods-they look like candy, lock up anything that is not food but may be eaten such as toothpaste, take the knobs off of the stove if electric or shut off the circuit breaker. I had a relative stick paper in an outlet to block some gremlins from getting out. Another one went at the outlet with a screw driver-yikes!. Just go through the house, use your imagination to determine how you could get in trouble. Also look online for elder proofing a house such as getting rid of throw rugs, increasing lighting, removing any tripping hazards. The cognitive decline makes you more likely to fall. Please consider the safer environment of a memory care unit. Oh and the POA suggestion--do it now!

If you have a step ladder or step stool put them away. Mom would get up on the counter to "clean out" her cabinets. While she was in that stage she moved everything all the time. It was a treasure hunt every time you needed something.

Due to a kitchen-project obsession, we had to hide all the sharp knives. We also hid the drain plugs for the kitchen sink, as she would frequently want to "soak" dishes in the sink. Once, she walked away and completely forgot the water was still running until the kitchen was thoroughly flooded. With a tile floor, we saw this as a risk factor.

Also, we have taken 100% of the financial stuff as our responsibility. She wasn't keeping track of what had already been paid for, and no longer has a good sense of what is actually needed. She was also VERY susceptible to a slick sales pitch and even to scammers. So we process all the mail, pay all the bills and check her email and other messages for signs of scammers and "buy stuff" messages.