My mom has early dementia and seems normal at times but as the day progresses, she get more confused. She believes she has eye cancer and has to have surgery. She does not. Dad brought her to the eye doctor recently to update her glasses. How to handle? If I say, "No mom, you don't have eye cancer." she doesn't believe me and gets frustrated but I'm afraid if I agree with her she will get more worked up and scared. She's constantly talking about the surgery and how she's worried.
Systane lubricating drops (as needed) are recommended by eye drs. Recently, my dr told me to try using allergy drops with olopatadine as the ingredient, once a day. Both are over the counter and I buy store brand. That second one really helped a lot - use it every morning.
Google Sundowning to find other tips to cope with late afternoon agitation in elders w dementia.
Best of luck to you
I’m on an Rx for this.
My doc also put me on OTC Pataday drops. Those help with the inflammation that come from allergies.
Without these meds, I would be driven crazy with the pain and itch.
I wonder if her doc has told her that she has dry or allergic eyes, and that she doesn’t recall or report to you correctly.
Same thing as far as commercials go. They hear about side effects of meds and all of a sudden they develop the symptoms that are being reported.
I discouraged my mother from watching the news daily. Every time they announced a recall on food items due to salmonella, she would become anxious. She was placed on Ativan to calm her anxiety. It helped tremendously.
Is your mom being influenced by news reports or advertisements on television? Or are these fabricated ideas due to her condition?
Best wishes to you and your mom.
You offer REFLECTIVE LISTENING:
I hear you saying you feel xxx
I understand that you feel xxx
It must be scary to think that you have xxx
You do not say yes or no or agree or disagree - as this way of communicating won't make any difference to her. She needs to get her fears 'out in the open' and she is doing this by talking to you.
Gena / Touch Matters
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