Eyesight with dementia

[dreamworld]

Hi

Does anyone have experience of their partner not being able to see objects which are directly in front of them? My husband frequently searches for things under his nose. He uses touch to find things. He can see TV OK. Despite having several pairs of glasses none seems to help.

Pat

[Hidden]

Have you had his eyes checked? It might not be a sight thing though. My husband does this when his brain is at its worst. I say to him, take your pills, put them in his hand but he cannot find the glass of water which is right in front of him. He often cannot find things even though he is looking at them. I think his brain doesn't connect the word which described the thing with the look of it. For example if he cannot find his keys. I will say 'they are on the cupboard'. He will then pick up random things on the cupboard as he cannot remember which are his keys. He can see them, but not recognise them. I think this is part of dementia (but it's probably worth having his eyes tested too)

[dreamworld in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for this. Yes his eyesight has been tested recently. What you describe is exactly what happens with us. I thought he just wasn't recognising the pattern of what he's looking for but your take is interesting. I tend to pick up the thing and hand it to him now. It's difficult to know how much to do for him. If I get that wrong in his eyes it leads to sulky silence or general mood change.

[Hidden in reply to dreamworld]

I know just what you mean. It's a very fine line to walk, isn't it. My husband is usually worst at bedtime and he never remembers to clean his teeth. He has a very low immune system so needs clean teeth to stop infections. I have to remind him several times and in the end I take him into the bathroom, put the past on the brush and give it to him. He then gets stroppy and says he is perfectly capable to doing it himself.

[dreamworld in reply to Hidden]

Haha. Yes familiar. He just asked for a cup of tea and has walked off and left it despite 2 reminders. Now looking for something but he can't remember what.

[Hidden]

exactly how it is in our house. 'What are you looking for?'. 'I'm looking for the......I'm looking for a........'

[Kathrin87]

My mom has vision problem

She cant see things it doesnt mean her eyesights is weak,she can't concentrate on seeing objects,doctors said thats because of her dementia .before ,when she was walking she was unable to come down the stair cases or she was falling down sometimes she wasn't able to recognise distances

[dreamworld in reply to Kathrin87]

Thanks Kathrin. Yes my husband is very nervous about stairs and comes down very slowly.

[nlsn in reply to Kathrin87]

My mum had this problem too, it's one of the symptoms unfortunately. Until you experience it many people think dementia is forgetting things but it's more than that😞

[klr31]

My mum had dementia and when she had her eyes tested we were told her eyes were fine but she couldn't always see things correctly, ie she thought it was raining outside when it wasn't but somehow she thought she saw rain. Judging distances and spatial awareness were difficult too. I think it might be part of the disease.

Karen

[elliedoll]

My grandma lived with us for a number of years when she had dementia and struggled with her vision as well despite regularly visiting the doctors.

We read up on it and also took advice from her at home carer who came for a few hours a day who said it was best to ignore any mistakes rather than keep questioning/correcting her as this can make her more agitated and she won't be able to correct herself.

This article gives some practical advice which might be of use:

dementiatoday.com/visuo-per...

I hope this helps a bit.. it can be very frustrating caring for someone with these issues and hard to keep reminding yourself that it isn't their fault.

[dreamworld in reply to elliedoll]

Thanks for replying and for the link which is very informative. Yes I do feel guilty if I lose patience after pointing out exactly where something is but he can't seem to see it.

[nlsn in reply to dreamworld]

I found I got better able to cope and less impatient the more I understood the disease, so information is key. It's very difficult and I feel for you.

[dreamworld in reply to nlsn]

Thanks nisn. Yes I'm finding out as much as I can. As yet my husband is not very forthcoming about his difficulties which makes it harder to reassure him. He still is not telling people about it so at the moment only medical folk and close family know officially. Clearly people can see his difficulties though. I hope this will change in time.

[MAS_Nurse]

Hi Dreamworld, Welcome to the community. I think you've had some really helpful advice given by some of the fellow forumites. You may find these links useful for further information if you live in the UK, and if not, then there should be equivalent where you live. The RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind): rnib.org.uk/sites/default/f...

Alzheimer's Society:

alzheimers.org.uk/info/2006...

Keep in touch. Hope this helps.

[AliBee1 in reply to MAS_Nurse]

I will use this link which I think will be very useful as my husband has a rare form of dementia and he woke one morning completely blind and was taken to A and E. They did numerous tests and could find nothing wrong and then his sight came back. I contacted the dementia care group for his type of dementia which is in Canada and they had not met this problem

[dreamworld]

Thanks for this. It clarifies what I have been thinking.

[5855]

Get him checked to see if he has cataracts forming , can take up to 10 yes to be fully formed , but even from beginning they cause problems

[Hidden]

Have you looked into Oregano oil? It is very good taken 30 days in a row for reversing blindness.

I have problems with muscles and nerves with fibromyalgia - I find using coconut oil for cooking, using epsom salts for baths or footbaths helps improve magnesium intake into the body as it is so stripped from Western diets and water. I also add some pink himalayan salt to my cooking instead of other salt as it helps with electrolytes. Eating saukraut and I make my own coleslaws with red cabbage and fennel and carrot all seem to help the gut function better. Eating beetroot is also really good for sorting you out when you are run down and ill. I make my own beetroot soups which are delicious with nice Kalo stock. Massively improves the mind, blood, muscles and nerves. Really helped my late father in law when he started suffering from dementia like symptoms. As soon as he had beetroot soup he was back to his old self again. Mixed unsalted nuts also help in terms of magnesium.

Cut down on caffeine as this blocks the bodies ability to absorb iron, vitamins and minerals. Massive problem across the World of Magnesium deficiency though. I find absorbing it through skin in bath (but I use quite a lot) helps get it to places most needed.