My 93 year old father has dementia and is resistant to help in any way to begin with. We have seen him benefit from nebullizer and oxygen treatments when he was on hospice. He is now on another hospice and it isn't their policy to administer these things, we would have to give them to my father.
Any advise or tips on doing this when the patient is resistant?
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A neighbor has been doing what you suggested isn'tEasy the last few days. I guess that is the best way to do it.
It's hard when someone has dementia and you know they aren't making the best decisions for themselves.
He was getting neb and oxygen treatments 5 days a week with the last hospice and he improved to the point where he was released from that hospice and I know it was all because of the neb and oxygen treatments. It's a shame.
Hospice doesn't have a problem with us doing this, it does help with his quality of life but this latest hospice will not administer it for us. Whereas the last hospice did do it for us.
If, however, the reverse is true, you could try holding the nebulizer mist near his mouth and nose (if he does not want to use the pipe) to give him some of the benefit from it.
However, what sounds to family members like difficulty with breathing is usually just a part of the natural process of dying. Interrupting it with interventions can actually create suffering. The nurses at hospice should be able to help your family sort out what symptoms are natural and what symptoms indicate that support is needed.