People with dementia are incredibly vulnerable to heat, because changes to fluid levels in their bodies—like sweating and dehydration during a heat wave—can lead to less blood going to their brain, exacerbating confusion already caused by neuron loss.
found a similar trend in New England “where long-term exposure to warmer climate and greater temperature variation significantly increased the risk of dementia-associated hospitalization.”John Romano takes no chances in the summer months. He has technicians perform routine checkups on his air conditioning units and he installed a backup generator to power the central air during blackouts.
He explained that healthy people can adapt during a heat wave — go into the shade, turn on the A/C, have a drink of water. But a person with Alzheimer’s disease can’t make those decisions on their own. “We're able to sweat when we're hot. We're able to feel thirst and then we're able to go get water to drink," she said. “We really need our brain to be working fully to balance all these things.”
She recommended controlling the temperature of their living space with an air conditioner, if you have access to one. She said make sure water — or other beverages that they may prefer to water — are available, and be proactive about reminding them to drink.
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