Elderly loved ones who are experiencing Alzheimer’s or dementia may be prone to wandering, which involves the inability to recognize a familiar location or the confusion of sense of place. Consult your dependent’s healthcare provider as well as the Alzheimer’s Association website if you think your loved one is at risk of wandering. At Angel Watch, we have compiled three ways you can curb your loved one’s wandering and keep elderly family members safe from potentially life-threatening situations. 

Pressure Sensitive Mats

Placing a pressure-sensitive  mat near the bedside of your loved one’s room or by any doors may help notify you when your vulnerable adult is up and about in the night. This way you can be aware of your loved one’s movement before they have made it outside or into a potentially dangerous situation. Pressure-sensitive mats for elderly individuals are available on Amazon; however, most individual mats tend to cost upwards of $100. 

Label and Camouflage Your Doors

Placing signs on each interior door of your home may help your loved one to find what they are “wandering” for more easily. Providing either large signs or images on your doors can help care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia while refraining from them getting lost. 

You can also leave signs off of doors you want your vulnerable adult to stay away from, such as the central entrance/exit. If you are to put a sign on said door, it should say something like “STOP” or “DO NOT ENTER” which could deter them from passing through that way. Covering the door with something like a dark curtain can also create the illusion of no door at all. One more bit of advice for family caregivers is to disguise door knobs with safety covers that further the same illusion.

Install Alarms/Warning Bells

Installing alarms and warning bells for aging loved ones will, much like a pressure-sensitive mat, inform you when they have passed through a particular area of the house. These, too, can be found on sites like Amazon, but for a fee that may make them impractical in the long term. Luckily, we have an all-around helpful, accessible smart device for elderly loved ones to share with you! 

The Best Solution of All

The final method we’re sharing today is using Angel Watch’s 4g smartwatch for vulnerable adults. Our Angel Watch Series R-Assist models are designed with geo-fencing technology that allows you, the new family caregiver, to set a boundary around your home and get alerts when your loved one has left that boundary. This is a more accessible way to keep track of your loved one and prevent the risk of wandering, without making expensive additions to your home, such as numerous pressure-sensitive mats and alarms. Angel Watch’s smartwatch for vulnerable adults can also be used in addition to alarms and the like to provide an extra layer of security for memory-impaired adults that allows for remote monitoring of your aging loved ones. Vital monitoring, temperature reading, call and video chat, and fall assist technology round out the features that the Angel Watch offers. This 4g smartwatch will make the perfect tool for maintaining your aging loved one’s safety.