Other safety precautions

In addition, consider taking these safety precautions throughout your home:

• Prepare for emergencies. Display emergency numbers and your home address near all telephones.
• Use night lights. Place night lights in the person's bedroom and the bathroom to help prevent tripping if he or she gets up at night.
• Treat slippery or uneven surfaces. Remove throw rugs. Place nonskid strips or wax on hardwood and tile floors.
• Adjust the home phone and voice mail settings. Lower the ringer volume of your home phone to prevent distraction and confusion. Set the answering machine or voice mail to turn on after the lowest number of rings. A person with dementia might be unable to take messages or could become the victim of telephone exploitation.

• Keep stairs safe. Install light switches at the top and bottom of stairs. Make sure stairs have at least one handrail that extends beyond the first and last steps.

  Cover stairs in carpet or apply nonskid strips. If the person with dementia has balance problems, install safety gates in front of stairs.

• Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Place them in or near the kitchen and all sleeping areas. Check them regularly to make sure they work. If the person with dementia has vision or hearing problems, install a smoke alarm with a vibrating pad or flashing light.
• Check the locks. Make sure there are working locks on all windows and front and back doors. Keep a spare set of house keys outside of the house, in case the person with dementia locks you out. Install deadbolts high or low on outside doors to make it harder to get out.
• Address outlets and electrical cords. Place lamps close to electrical outlets. Cover unused electrical outlets with childproof plugs.
• Keep computer equipment out of the way. If you store valuable documents on your computer, protect the files with passwords and create backup files. Consider monitoring the person's computer use.

You can buy many products or gadgets necessary for home safety in hardware, electronics, medical supply and children's stores. If you need help making changes to your home, enlist friends, a home safety professional or a community organization.

Remember, paying attention to home safety can help the person with dementia maintain his or her independence — and ease the stress of caregiving.