Why Do Dementia Patients Keep Their Mouths Open - T-Tees - Your Answers Await, Life's Questions Unraveled

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How to help with eating and drinking at mealtimes

If changes in behaviour are affecting eating and drinking, there are some things that can help.

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These include:

encouraging them to try the first mouthful to get a taste
using prompts, for example saying “that’s nice”
if they open their mouth to a cup more readily than to a spoon, try a few mouthfuls of fluid first, then move on to the spoon
encouraging them to feed themselves as much as possible, even if this is messy
experimenting with different tastes and textures – people with a dementia often have a preference for sweet foods – sweeten meals by adding sugar, maple syrup, or ketchup

If they don’t eat enough or eat unhealthy food, they can become vulnerable to other illnesses.

People with a dementia can become more confused if they get ill.

As the condition progresses, a person with a dementia may mistake household items as food.

They may try to eat tissues, buttons or liquid tabs.

This can lead to them hurting themselves.

There are things that you can do to help avoid this.

These include:

making sure everyone involved in the person’s care is aware of this including visitors
locking away all harmful substances like cleaning products
being vigilant and removing small items that may be easily placed in the mouth
they may be hungry – offer food as an alternative to the item
making sure food is available and easily accessible throughout the day so they can eat what and when they want safely

A person with a dementia may develop a preference for sweeter foods. It is important to offer them a choice of foods if practical.

Things that can help include:

sprinkling sugar on foods before or after cooking – honey, jam, syrup and fresh fruit can be used in savoury dishes to add a sweet flavour
using sweet toppings in certain savoury dishes, for example, sweet pastry on vegetables, meat or fish pies and crumbles
trying savoury dishes already containing a sweet flavour, like sweet and sour sauces, pork and apple in cider sauce, barbecue sauces, honey glazed ham, gammon and pineapple and sweeter curries
adding strong tasting sauces such as ketchup or sweet chilli sauce to food – these should be tested out in small quantities in order to identify likes and dislikes
using herbs and spices to enhance flavours
using strong flavoured dips like garlic mayo or barbeque sauce if the person does not like gravy