Alzheimer's Disease: Hallucinationsby Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger 06 Mar 2008 06:02 PM As Alzheimer's disease advances, a person may begin to experience hallucinations. These sensory experiences seem completely real to the person with Alzheimer's disease. The most common hallucinations involve sight (seeing something that isn't really there) and sound (hearing something that isn't really there). That doesn't mean the other senses can't be involved too. Hallucinations can also involve taste, smell, and touch. What should a caretaker or family member do if a loved one is having hallucinations? Your response can vary depending on several things:
When a hallucination is upsetting or disturbing, the best thing you can do is be reassuring. Tell the person that you are here to help -- don't accuse them of imagining things or making things up. To a person with Alzheimer's disease, the hallucination is very real. It might upset them further to have someone disbelieve them. Your best bet is to try to redirect the person onto another activity -- something that will distract them from the hallucination and the negative feelings. Ask them to help with an easy household task -- unload the dishwasher or fold laundry -- or have them join you in a game. Sometimes, a hallucination can be harmless. A person might see something pleasant outside the window. There's no reason to tell them that nothing is there. As the caretaker, it's important that you don't get upset or agitated if you can help it. You getting upset is only going to make the person with Alzheimer's disease pick up on the mood and become more agitated. That's often easier said than done -- someone you love is seeing things that aren't really there. There's a certain instinctive urge to correct them, and a desire to bring them back to reality. Learn more about Aimee Amodio  Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover... Relevanthealth tags User Comments grandmaladybug (10) 06 Mar 2008 10:30 PMThat is exactly what happened the first time we realized there was anything worng with my mom. She seemed ok one day the next day I was out shopping and my DH was home alone working outside when my mom came out and asked him if he wanted her to make some coffee for his friends. There was no one there but my DH he was very worried about her. When I got home i took her to the ER they didn't even consider Alzheimer's at that time they thought it could be a combination of the Rx drugs she was taking and discontinued a couple of them but the hallucinations continued. She was then diagnosed with Alzheimer's. We were able to keep her at home for another 2 years but we could not leave her alone for a minute. We finally had to place her in a nursing home where she could get the quality of care I could not give her by myself. Fortunately we found a wonderful caring facility where I could go there anytime day or night to check on her. Which I did often, I was also able to take meals with her from time to time and take her home for occasional visits. It is so sad though that many of the patients there had no one to come visit them. Thankfully the nursing staff were always very loving with those who were alone.  Aimee Amodio (11995) 07 Mar 2008 02:39 PMThank you for sharing your story, grandmaladybug! I hope that when it's time for my grandmother to go to a facility, we find one like the one your family chose. MotheringMother (10) 17 Mar 2008 08:30 PMWhen your loved one starts hallucinating is when you really face the fact that you are no doubt, a caregiver. Before then, you can sometimes fool yourself, but that moment when you realize your loved one is not dealing with the same reality, you then see that you must step up and make the decisions and not waver. It's scary, at first. My mother saw hallucinations before things got really bad. And also, may I point out that other diseases also have hallucinations, either because they're neurologically based illnesses, or the meds can cause them, including sleep aids. It takes a while as a caregiver to get your bearings on this one. Mother thought trees were people, buildings were water, she saw people hiding in our house, she saw John Wayne, the old cowboy westerner. Some were mildly amusing, others were in the middle of the night and were unsettling. Talking to your doctor about their meds is important. Sometimes this can at least be diminished. Being observant and vigilent is important. Having a good sense of humor helps a lot! Knowing when it's dangerous is a must. I took care of mom until her passing, and although it was hard, I'm so grateful I had this opportunity. I never thought I would say that, but caregiving teaches you a lot about yourself. ~Carol D. O'Dell Author of Mothering Mother: A Daughter's Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir available on Amazon www.mothering-mother.com Community Tags alzheimer's disease, alzheimer's, caretakers, hallucinations Discuss this article
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