There are millions of people in the world who live with dementia, which is a condition that causes a loss of memory and other abilities that impact a person's daily life. If your loved one has recently been diagnosed with this disease, you may be looking for tips on how to provide the best possible care for them. Keep reading to learn some dementia care tips that may be helpful.

Be Consistent

If you do not live with your loved one, make sure to call them at the same time and on the same day every week, such as each Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. When you do visit, engage in an activity together, such as putting a puzzle together or cooking a meal. In doing so, you will help slow down the cognitive decline.

Be Patient

As you communicate with your loved one, it is imperative that you are incredibly patient. You may even want to try to come up with new ways to communicate. Your loved one is going to find it difficult to communicate the more their cognitive abilities decline. They may not hear you as well, and they may repeat themselves. You must be patient. If you must give them instructions, make sure that you only give them one step at a time or they will get confused.

Promote Calm

For individuals who have been diagnosed with dementia, they seek a calm, compassionate, and comforting environment. To help create this type of environment for your loved one, make sure to speak in a soft voice and put on some soothing music. Avoid bright lights by replacing them with soft ones. You should also make sure that they have a stuffed animal and/or a soft blanket on hand at all times. Simple changes like this can help to minimize the agitation that dementia patients often experience.

Monitor Nutrition

While most people eat three meals per deal, this can often be difficult for the person who suffers from dementia. Therefore, you should consider breaking their meals up into several smaller meals throughout the day. In addition to ensuring that they are getting the proper amount of nutrition from their food, you need to keep a close eye on the amount of fluids that they are consuming each day. Ideally, your loved one should be drinking somewhere between 5 and 10 8-ounce glasses of water on a daily basis.

For more information on how to keep your loved one comfortable after being diagnosed with dementia, reach out to your health care provider. If you believe that you can no longer care for your loved one yourself, speak to a dementia care center about your options.