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Author: lmessner@choicelocal.com

Alzheimer’s disease affects so many areas of life for the people who develop it. Often they’re surprised to learn that Alzheimer’s disease affects their vision and how well their eyes function. As Alzheimer’s progresses, so can these eye issues. Understanding how Alzheimer’s disease affects the eyes helps family caregivers keep seniors safe. Home care providers can also offer support that seniors need as they face these challenges.

Visual Changes

Seniors with Alzheimer’s disease can find themselves dealing with changes like blurry vision or trouble with depth perception. This can happen because Alzheimer’s disease affects the ability for the eyes to focus and transmit information to the brain’s visual processing centers. Depth perception changes mean that it becomes difficult for seniors to gauge distances. This is one reason they may need to give up driving and can have trouble navigating stairs and uneven surfaces. Many seniors also start to have trouble seeing in low light and distinguishing contrasts.

Mobility Challenges

As Alzheimer’s disease progresses, seniors may have more trouble navigating obstacles easily. This leaves them at greater risk of tripping and falling. These same challenges make driving more difficult, if not impossible. Home care providers can take over the driving for them, helping seniors get where they need to go without endangering themselves or others. Many seniors with Alzheimer’s disease may need to consider assistive devices, like a cane, to help them remain stable as they walk.

Trouble with Daily Activities

Regular daily activities might become more difficult for seniors because of the vision changes they’re experiencing. They may have more difficulty reading and writing, simply because it’s difficult to see the lettering on the page. Personal care tasks that rely on vision, like grooming and dressing, may become more difficult, too. Seniors may have more trouble choosing clothing that looks “right,” since they’re experiencing vision changes.

Strategies to Work Around These Issues

Removing clutter and installing grab bars are excellent solutions, especially when seniors are having trouble avoiding obstacles. Adding more lighting can help a little bit, especially in areas like hallways and bathrooms that aren’t always well-lit. Using more high-contrast colors around doors and steps can make those areas safer for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s Care Can Help

One-on-one support helps seniors with Alzheimer’s disease to feel more supported. Home care providers understand the challenges that seniors face due to aging alone, but they also understand how complicated Alzheimer’s disease can be. Elder care providers can help with daily personal care tasks, make sure seniors are eating healthy foods, and get them to their appointments and events on time. They also offer emotional support that seniors need when they’re dealing with massive changes in their lives and health.

Alzheimer’s disease affects so many areas of life for aging adults. The changes that it makes to eyes and to visual processing can be difficult for seniors to overcome easily, however. These challenges can make seniors feel self-conscious and depressed, so it helps to have home care providers there who can lend assistance whenever it is needed.

Reference
https://assileye.com/blog/eyesight-problems-linked-to-dementia
https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/understanding-alzheimers-disease-symptoms

IF YOU OR AN AGING LOVED ONE IS CONSIDERING HIRING HOME CARE IN SANTA CLARA, CA, PLEASE CONTACT THE CARING STAFF AT HOME HELPERS TODAY. (408) 317-4969