Patient Outbursts

This Article about Patient Outbursts is especially relative to Caregivers who are providing Care Giving responsibilities in an Alzheimer’s In Home Care setting. This particular article was offered by the staff at AgingCare.com which is perhaps the very best WebSite throughout the entire internet for Caregivers seeking personal assistance concerning pretty much any type of question regarding Care Giving responsibilities one might care to ask.

5 Causes of Alzheimer’s Outbursts

Articles from the Staff at AgingCare.com

Toward furthering the goal of education for Alzheimer’s patient Caregivers, this Page is structured to offer additional insights for your consideration. These insights come from people who, while not necessarily noted Professionals in the Medicinal field, nevertheless offer important information for your consideration.

 

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For people taking care of elderly parents with Alzheimer’s or dementia, one of the biggest challenges is dealing with outbursts of agitation and aggression.

Techniques for managing Alzheimer’s aggression… such as re-directing the person’s attention or medication can certainly help. But Cindy Steele, an RN and Nurse Scholar for Copper Ridge, a residential care community, says the key is finding out what is causing the outburst. “Dismissing aggression as a normal behavior associated with Alzheimer’s doesn’t enable the caregiver to fix whatever is causing the outburst. Why do they seem to get upset? What causes it?” says Steele, who focuses on behavior management for Alzheimer’s and dementia.

She says agitation and aggression
are typically caused by one or more of these five factors:

Cognitive impairment

Sometimes caregivers overestimate what their parent with Alzheimer’s or dementia is capable of accomplishing. If a person with Alzheimer’s is asked to do a task, and they are not able to complete it, they get upset and frustrated, which results in an outburst. Caregivers must adjust their expectations to their parent’s capabilities. And remember that Alzheimer’s and dementia are degenerative diseases. Parent’s abilities will decline over time, which means expectations must be shifted continually.

Psychological disorders

Steele says that 40% of people with Alzheimer’s develop depression, due to a neuro-chemical imbalance in the brain. Anxiety disorders and delusions also occur quite commonly in people with Alzheimer’s. Once these imbalances are identified and diagnosed, medication can be prescribed that has proved to help tremendously.

Physical well-being

Outbursts might be associated with physical problems. The person might have a headache, a rash, constipation, or fatigue. This means caregivers must be vigilant about watching their elderly parent’s physical well-being and noticing when changes occur. When people with Alzheimer’s have physical problems, they might be unable to tell the Caregiver. The behavior – in the form of a tantrum – is their form of communication.

Environment

The person may be reacting to an uncomfortable environment. For example, a room may be too cold, too noisy, or too crowed. Their inability to clearly communicate their discomfort turns into an outburst.

Approach

People with Alzheimer’s react and respond to how a Caregiver approaches them. Trying to rush them, or force them to do something they don’t want to do can result in agitation. How you approach the person with Alzheimer’s is key, Steele says. Use a gentle tone of voice, but don’t be condescending. Don’t rush them as they try to complete a task, even if they are moving at a frustratingly slow pace. Don’t demand that they do something or bark orders at them. Ask them. Use calming gestures and gentle touch.

Getting to the root cause of outbursts
will help caregivers
manage behavior more effectively
and may lesson the frequency of agitation and aggression.