10 Tips to Reduce Alzheimer Wandering

There are many reasons for someone with Alzheimer's disease to wander. Here
are tips to help caregivers keep their loved ones safe.

1) Be prepared. There's no way to predict who will wander or when, or
how it might happen. The best advice is to register a loved one in the
Alzheimer's Association Safe Return Program before a loved one gets lost.

2) Encourage movement and exercise. Make a shared exercise, such as
walking, part of your daily routine together, and allow the person with
Alzheimer's disease access to a safe, enclosed area.

3) Be objective. Dont take the person's wandering behavior personally.

4) Be aware of hazards. Places that look safe might be dangerous for
someone with Alzheimer's disease. Look in and around your home for potential
hazardsfences and gates, bodies of water, pools, dense foliage, bus stops,
steep stairways, high balconies and roadways where there is heavy trafficand
change what you can or block access.

5) Secure the living area. Do what you can to make your home safe and
secure. Place locks out of the normal line of visioneither very high or very
low on doors. Use doorknobs that prevent the person with Alzheimer's from
opening the door. Other safety precautions include: placing locks on gates,
camouflaging doors, fencing in the patio or yard, installing electronic
alarms or chimes on doors, and using familiar objects, signs and nightlights
to guide the person around a safe area.

6) Communicate with the person. Regularly remind and reassure the person
with Alzheimer's that you know how to find them and that he's in the right
place.

7) Identify the person. Have the person wear a Safe Return
identification bracelet or necklace. Use sew-on or iron-on labels or
permanent markers to mark clothing. Place identification on shoes, keys and
eyeglasses, and in wallet and handbags.

8) Involve the neighbors. Inform your neighbors of your loved one's
condition and keep a list of their names and phone numbers handy.

9) Involve the police. Some police departments will keep a photo and
fingerprints of people with Alzheimer's on file. Have the following
information ready for emergencies: the person's age, hair color, eye color,
identifying marks, blood type, medical conditions, medication, dental work,
jewelry and allergies.

10) Be prepared for other modes of wandering. Although most wandering
takes place on foot, some people with Alzheimer's have been known to drive
hundreds of milessometimes in a vehicle that belongs to someone else.
Prevent this problem by keeping car keys out of sight or temporarily
disabling the car by removing the distributor cap. People with Alzheimer's
also have traveled great distances by train, airplane or public
transportation.