My father has Alzheimer's and thinks someone lives under his trailer. How do I handle that?

He needs to be evaluated from a neurologist or neuropsychologist (usually neurologist first); from there reccomendations can be made. How long has this been going on, is he driving, who cooks, oral care and personal hygiene being upkept and all the questions that should be asked. Talking about putting someone into long term care right off the bat is not going to help anyone. We all want independence and let's face it, being 'put' into a home is not ideal. Are you his POA? Does he have a living will? You can also relieve his anxiety about the person under the house by coaxing him to believe the person/people under the house are friendly and need to be left alone. It sounds like this situation has been negelcted as you have time to write into an online forum so I'm guessing he's not a danger to himself. Sometimes simple things cause dementia like behaviors like UTIs, fluid or ear inbalances, etc as has been talked about prior. This is why he needs to go to the doc stat. His pcp will refer him to a neurologist. I just want to say that our parent/parents took care of us and brought us up; is it really too much to ask it of us to return the favor when they fall ill? Some parents go to long term care willingly and some kick, scream and fight. If he fights it will make your life a living hell. Think this one through...we always have a choice

I agree with 97 but...I think its time to consider moving him to an AL or LTC if he can't live with you. Or find caregivers. This man should not be alone if he is hallucinating.

Be sure to get him tested for a UTI. A UTI can cause dementia type symptoms in those who don’t have dementia and worsen the symptoms for those who do.

If he is on meds you might want to let his doctor know in case his meds need adjusting.

Make sure he is taking on adequate fluids to ward off Dehydration.

What are your plans for dad for when you think he can no longer live alone?

Does he call the police about the person under the trailer? He might decide to or he might solicit the neighbors help. If you are unsure about next steps you could call your Area Agency on Aging and ask them to evaluate your dad for any services he might be eligible for and to do an assessment. Someone living under your house would be very stressful. I hope you can get him help.

One thing not to do is to try to talk him out of his beliefs. He'll just dig in and the trust between the two of you will suffer.

My dad had delusions as a result of end stage liver disease. He thought people were out to get him. While I didn't subscribe to his fears I would tell him that I had taken care of it and that he wouldn't be bothered anymore. That's as specific as I got: I took care of it. I told him there was nothing to worry about anymore and that I would stay on top of it for him. He was relieved.