Evidence-based guidance for families navigating dementia care — home safety, wandering, daily routines, and when to get help.
By Simon Peter Lokomo, MPH — Public Health Last reviewed: August 2026 How much weight loss is a problem? Losing 5 percent or more of body weight over six to twelve months without trying is the threshold clinicians use, and it warrants an evaluation rather than a trip to the pharmacy. For a 160 pound…
By Simon Peter Lokomo, MPH — Public Health Last reviewed: August 2026 My parent suddenly seems confused. What should I do? Call their doctor today, or go to urgent care or an emergency room. Confusion that comes on over hours or days is not normal aging and is not how dementia begins. Doctors call it…
By Simon Peter Lokomo, MPH — Public HealthLast reviewed: July 2026 Are Bed Rails Safe for the Elderly? Not for most older adults, and especially not for anyone with dementia. Bed rails have never been shown to reliably prevent falls, and they carry a documented risk of death. Federal regulators recorded 284 entrapment deaths from…
By Simon Peter Lokomo, MPH — Public HealthLast reviewed: July 2026 Sundowning is the pattern of increased confusion, agitation, or anxiety that appears in the late afternoon and evening in people with dementia. It happens mainly because dementia damages the brain’s internal clock, and it’s made worse by end-of-day tiredness, low light, and unmet needs…
By Simon Peter Lokomo, MPH — Public HealthLast reviewed: July 2026 If you’re asking about an older driver without a dementia diagnosis, the general-population evidence on age and driving safety is covered in a separate article: When to Stop Driving. A dementia diagnosis by itself doesn’t mean someone must stop driving that day. In early…
By Simon Peter Lokomo, MPH — Public HealthLast reviewed: July 2026 No, and any product promising otherwise is overselling. What they actually do is narrower and still valuable: a door alarm tells you the moment someone leaves, and a GPS tracker gives searchers a place to start instead of a blank map. Researchers who’ve reviewed…
Start with the three biggest risks: wandering, the kitchen, and falls. The single most effective step isn’t a gadget — it’s a home visit from an occupational therapist. A calm, evidence-honest guide for caregivers.