Appropriate Clothing for Persons With Alzheimer's

If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer's, then you will need to know that as time goes on, your loved one, or even if you are a caregiver, will not only need help picking out the clothes to wear, but will eventually need physical help dressing themselves. You can make dressing a person with Alzheimer's an easy task by choosing clothing that's easy to get on and off. Also, to help them stay as independent as possible you can learn some tips on helping them dress themselves. I used this method to help my father dress for as long as possible, and later for an easy care routine.

When choosing a routine to dress, I found it helpful to buy the easy on and off clothes types first, for all of my father's clothes. For example, pants such as jeans often do not have leg openings wide enough, and the material is often stiff, to use a routine of socks and shoes first, the shoes get stuck in the pants leg. There is a better way by going ahead and investing a little in easy access clothes. Read about a few types of clothes that you can either buy or modify, to help you and the Alzheimer's person that you care for look nice everyday, without a lot of stress for either of you.

• Pull on stretchable clothing or sweat pants are great for persons with Alzheimer's. Stretchable clothing can be worn for more dress up occasions, and the sweat pants for when they want to kick back around the house. It they have special shoes or leg and arm braces that must be worn for medical purposes; you can always have the stitches of the seam cut, and Velcro put in their places. Belts can be bought or made for dressy occasions with it sewn onto the pants. That way there won't be any fumbling with loops and twisting.

• Shirts that are pullover are the easiest way to dress them for shirts, but you will have to help by replacing any button tops with Velcro if you are getting button downs. Even tops with zippers can be an issue because the person with Alzheimer's is likely to forget how to use the zipper.

• Buy socks that have snug, but not to tight elastic bands. Some people have trouble keeping their socks pulled up, and Alzheimer's patients will take them off. If they do not have any circulatory issues, buy sock bands or sweat wrist bands and place them at the top to hold up their socks. Socks should have some type of non skid surface on the bottom. I found that a pair of Tote like warmer socks a good way to keep my fathers feet warm too. You can always get the "slipper-socks" at the hospital-the blue or green ones with the vinyl coating on the bottom for a modest price.

• Shoes should be ones that have Velcro for easy on and off dressing. You can buy tennis shoes for everyday wear, and dressy shoes with Velcro.

• If you are caring for a male Alzheimer's individual then consider boxer shorts for underwear. Their bands are wider, and your loved one will have an easier time because of wider leg opens getting their foot through. For undershirts the any style is appropriate, buy a package that is one size bigger. The shirts shrink, which makes it very difficult for getting an arm through a tiny opening.

• Winter wear without the easy on and off type of clothing can be very challenging. I solved that by replacing the buttons on coats with Velcro, and his dressy shirts and pants with seams of Velcro, to help him get them on and off. Winter coats can use Velcro too, and you can change up their style of clothing by purchasing shawls and ponchos when it is raining.

When you help your loved one get dressed, remember to always if possible; give them a choice of clothing. Helping my father, after I chose the easy on and off clothing, was a cinch. We worked from the bottom up, after he picked out his clothing from the limited selection that I offered. This was really necessary as the disease progressed, but he seemed very happy and content. I gave him a wide style type to choose from for the occasion.

For other tips on helping your Alzheimer's loved one with clothing, go to the Internet and read at http://www.ahealthyme.com . For specialty order clothing there are places like www.buckandbuck.com . Also, don't forget to read more information about
Alzheimer's at http://www.alz.org