Keeping Dementia Patients Comfortable on Halloween

NEW YORK—With Halloween approaching, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is offering five tips for family caregivers to help their loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related illnesses remain comfortable and safe during the holiday. 

“Halloween is full of scary sights and frightful sounds that create additional challenges for someone living with dementia, which is why being a proactive caregiver is so important,” said Jennifer Reeder, director of educational and social services at AFA. “Following a few quick and easy steps can help keep the ‘happy’ in ‘happy halloween’ for someone living with dementia on October 31.”

To better care for those with Alzheimer’s and dementia during Halloween festivities, the AFA advises family caregivers to consider the following five tips:

• Avoid interactive or frightening decorations. Decorations that talk or scream when passed by can be distressing for those with dementia. The sights and sounds of noisy decorative figures, as well as decorations with flashing or flickering lights, can cause an individual with dementia to wander—potentially away from their own home. Fake skeletons, cobwebs, witches and monsters—even if non-interactive—can be upsetting for someone living with a cognitive impairment, since they perceive these things as real. Instead, use more neutral seasonal decorations, such as pumpkins or fall leaves, to decrease the likelihood of distress or wandering. 
• Help the person relax. Halloween often brings about many distractions and stimuli, such as costumed strangers walking around and loud noises, which can be upsetting or frightening to someone living with dementia. If your loved one becomes agitated by the stimuli, playing soothing music, engaging in a quiet activity like reading a book together and using calm reassurance can help ease these negative feelings.
• Adapt to the celebration. Replace candy with fruit or other healthy snacks, because too much sugar intake can increase agitation. Consider doing calm, festive activities, like reminiscing on old family pictures of Halloween events, painting pumpkins together or watching a non-threatening, Halloween-themed show or movie, if they want to participate. Focus on what your loved one can and likes to do now, rather than what they used to do before the onset of dementia. 
• Don’t leave your loved one alone to give out candy. Having strangers continually knocking on the door in costumes can be frightening, confusing or disruptive to someone living with a dementia-related illness. Additionally, this can be a safety risk. If the person wants to participate in giving out candy, make sure someone else is there to help them with the task, or plan for the person to go to a relative’s or friend’s house to engage with trick or treaters. Never invite trick or treaters into the home, unless the person knocking is someone you know. 
• Keep the lights on in your home. A dark home gives the impression that no one is inside, making it more inviting for burglars or vandals. Therefore, have interior and exterior lights lit. If your loved one doesn’t want to hand out candy, you can keep a bowl of candy outside your door for trick-or-treaters, with a sign that says, “Please take one.”

Families who have questions about caring for someone living with Alzheimer’s disease can contact AFA’s helpline by phone, text or web to speak with a licensed social worker.