Personal Identification for Persons With Alzheimer's

As the disease of Alzheimer's slowly attacks their brain, your loved one will loose their ability to use important cognitive skills in judging what's safe to do, and what isn't. They might have a tendency, as my father did, to wander around, and try to leave the safety of your care. Persons with Alzheimer's do not intentionally walk away and they don't do it to hurt the ones they love, or those who care for them.

They simply do not know any better and they forget. If you are taking care of them now there are things that you can do to identify them in case they get away from your watchful eyes. I used some these techniques, and a few times it helped us in emergency situations. Remember, your first responsibility is to keep them safe and content, and do not feel intrusive and guilty for taking these actions.

The following list is made up of a few tips that will help you locate your loved one should they become separated from your or lost. All of these will aid local and state authorities with identifying them, and returning them to your safe keeping.

• Personal clothing. On every piece of clothing, either mark with a permanent marker or sew on tags with their full name and age, as well as phone number where you can be reached. This includes, t-shirts, underwear, and socks too. In most instances, you will have to sew or have sewed on a larger tag, so you will have room to write clearly their information. For a fee you could have a tailor stitch the information into the clothing so that it cannot be torn away or washed off.

• Their shoes should be marked on the bottom with a contrasting color to be easily read. New studies have shown that Alzheimer's suffers easily identify the color red so mark everything. When marking shoes, don't mark the bottom of the sole. Mark the bottom side of the sole where the shoe sees less wear and the words are more likely to last.

• Identification card and bracelet. Make sure that an identification card has the necessary information, and any other you might find necessary, such as health information, on other physical problems they might have, like diabetes, as my father had. A new type of bracelet, that is not easily removed, is the Safe Return bracelet. It is offered by the National Alzheimer's Association. You can find out how to order at http://www.alz.org , or call them at a toll free number at 1-888-272-3700. There is a minimum cost, but it's worth it for your peace of mind. Check out all of the information on Alzheimer's too at the website.

• Finger prints. Keep up to date by having a finger print set done. Quality is important, and there are new programs that will let you provide digital fingerprints of all fingers for your loved one. Be sure and check out the website www.sentrykids.com. This software program even has a search able data base, and includes lots of options for the package that you pick.

• Tattoos and other Identifying Marks. Make sure that you keep a photo record of tattoo's, piercings, and other bodily markings. When a person is lost they may be remembered by people for having a tattoo on their arm or neck, or even some sort of odd scar and can be a great help when you are searching for someone lost.

• Engraving personal affects. Many of my fathers affects were engraved. Anything that can be carried or worn should include engraving. Eye glasses, wallet, purse, jewelry, and even their dentures can be marked with information too. You can have a professional engrave these items for a fee or you can purchase a hand held battery operated engraver. These engravers are cheap and work on almost any surface from calculators to jewelry.

There are other types of new identification methods available on the market today that were not available for my father just a few years ago. Go on the Internet to Provider Watch, found at http://www.providerwatch.com , and read about the new DNA kits that are easily affordable and administered. DNA can be taken and easily stored for future need, if your Alzheimer's sufferer gets lost, and the police need to be notified.

Protecting your loved one is not an easy job. You will want to be as prepared as you can be, but accidents do happen. If you do everything that you can to help protect them, it will ease your mind, and keep your loved one safe.