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Wife with early onset alzheimers dementia hallucinates by talking to her mirror image.

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Does she understand who that image in the mirror is? Is she talking to herself or to someone else? Does this distress her in any way?

Does she see others things or people who are not there?

How old is your wife? Do you mean that she is early in progression of the disease, or that she got it early in her life?

If she enjoys talking to her mirror image, no harm done. If this activity distresses her, makes her agitated or angry, then come up with some ways to distract her.

Hallucinations and delusions are common in many kinds of dementia.

Do you have a particular concern about this that you'd like to discuss?
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Very possible she is on the wrong type of medication. Call the MD.
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I agree about the doctor. We have a good one, a psychiatrist who also has a degree in pharmacy. My husband has mild dementia from Parkinson's Disease, and this doctor has helped by adjusting his meds. It made a huge difference!
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Also, if this is a new symptom, insist that they check for a UTI. Call the MD.
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My husband who has Lewy Body Dementia also has hallucinations - don't know if I can call any of them mild or not, but he does hallucinate. The Psychiatrist has suggested that I try to distract him by asking him questions about his past. This seems to work.

I would also suggest that you let your wife talk to the mirror if in fact it is not upsetting her, but, if it gets to the point that it is being destructive to her well being, I would suggest trying a distraction. Unfortunately, this probably bothers you more than you would like to think and if that is the case, try to remove yourself from watching her do her mirror thing.... Again, distraction usually works....

Remember, we will never understand what's in the minds of our loved ones with dementia or AL, so all we can do is keep them from harm to self and others....Try distractions and let us know how it works for you....
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Distractions work better for me than any medication. I know that sounds like a real non-medical answer, but I have found trying to get meds to solve some of the problems, just tend to change the problem. I get a lot less anxiety when I keep my mother with AD distracted, including when she has hallucinations.
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My Mom has hallucinations, especially at night when we're suppose to be asleep. They are constant. She is in rehab right now and has a psychiatrist who is experimenting with her meds. She had been given some heavy duty meds that would have knocked out a person without dementia. The meds only increased her hallucinations. I've tried to distract her but she goes right back to the same hallucination. I'm praying that they can help her so I can get some sleep.
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my husband also at night with sundowners gets hallucinations. anyone with dementia if you have access to hyperbaric oxygen it has been a miracle from my husband, the dementia has progressed but his sense of humor returned and it has slowed down the progression he is not on any meds and we chged doctors and he now goes to a nuro phyciatrist who put in on seroquil which seems to have helped alittle for the hallucinations, nuro feedback also helps we are in pittsburgh
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My friend's mom does this. He doesn't really consider it hallucinations. The doctor explained it like this:
With dementia there can be age regression. For example, my friend's 89 year old mother is in stage 6-7 and believes she is around 16 years old. When she looks in the mirror (or any reflective surface), she has no idea who that old lady is and has a conversation with "her". As long as the conversations are positive and keep her in a good place, he allows it to continue. If she starts getting agitated, yelling (she actually can't speak words any more, but instead noises), then he covers the reflective surfaces to calm her.
If this is a sudden onset, I definitely agree that you should find out if she has a medication issue, or a UTI, but it could be as simple as she believes she is talking to someone else.
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Then she does not recognize her own image which is typical in more advanced dementia. Let her "talk" to the person she sees. It is a common symptom.
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Seraquil and Trazadone did not work for my Mother. She continued having hallucinations. They are giving her Zanaz before bed at rehab and that's not working either. Her doctor is going to put her on oxygen because he found out that her oxygen levels are low and that can cause hallucinations as well. Dementia is a very complicated disease.
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I agree with everything here. My husband had hallucinations, too, but his were more auditory than visual. Yes, have her checked for UTI if this is a new, sudden symptom. If it's been on-going and getting worse, talk to the doctor. Some meds for ALZ actually cause or make hallucinations worse!!! Once my husband's meds were changed, the hallucinations stopped almost completely. The idea that she is 16 and talking to the "old lady" in the mirror never occured to me. Good thought. However, ALZ and other dementia patients have a tendency to become aggressive, even violent. She could seriously injure herself if she tries to hit the person in the mirror. Don't be fooled because she might be weak. My husband who was very, very weak...couldn't even feed himself...would get a "death grip" on the aide's arm if she tried to wash his face or shave him. I would have to pry his hand off finger by finger while trying to soothe him with kind words, etc. Believe me, this is no picnic. Please talk to the medical professional immediately. A neurologist and a neuro-psycholigist and a psychiatrist are what it took to get my husband under control. It was very sad and very difficult for me. He passed away last October. I am sad and lonely, but watching him deteriorate was far worse. The late-night outbursts, the hallucinations, the "one-thing-after-another" medical crises were heartbreaking and physically, mentally and emotionally draining.
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I cared for a delightful 96 year old lady who had frequent hallucinations due to her Dementia. I helped get the group of men out of the house, and then told her I'd keep a more watchful eye and keep the door locked. When I reassure the client in that way, it makes them feel better. One client told me that a man had just been sitting on her bed talking to her, but she didn't let him stay because she was "not that kind" of lady! We had a great laugh about this, and I encouraged her for being moral. :-) But I've had a client get frightened by their hallucination, and if that happens I use what I call "Interruptive touch" (I think I made that up). Taking them by the arm, gentle and firm, and getting eye contact attention and leading them away from what they are seeing. "Don. Walk me to the front door! I'm about to leave." That kind of thing.
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My poor husband had hallucinations, horrible dreams, wanted to commit suicide, agreed to go to a nursing home. All that was more than two years ago when we talked the doctor into taking him off Aracept. He's back home and happy and very grateful to be nearly normal, loving, sweet, and tries not to be forgetful.
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My mother in law had hallucinations (seeing people who were not there and hearing things even though she is deaf). The doctor prescribed medication that helped her. It didn't always help with the delusions (yes there is a difference). Talk to the doctor, if you have hospice, talk to your hospice nurse.
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Carlen, which meds did the doctor prescribe..? My dad is hallucinating that my neighbor is writing stuff on our walls about him.. Like your mom in law who is deaf, my dad cannot see or read, but sure can read these "signs".. He was tested for UTI and is healthy.. He takes only meds for his prostate, mirtazipine for depression, and Xanax as needed..
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My husband was on the Excelon patch, and that helped. But he quit, he didn't like the way it made him feel. So far, so good. But I wish he'd give it another try.
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