A friend of mine with 86 year old Dad with Alzheimers experiences constant damage leaving his Dad unattended 10 minutes. Dad has done it all...from eating dozens of oranges and flushing the peels (he had to pull the toilet and auger it), Dad has taken apart the furnace with a screwdriver (he woke up on a Sunday to find parts spread across the kitchen floor), broken his car ignition (trying to start it with the wrong keys), you name it.
He has since bought 4 fire extinguishers and various locks for every door, cabinet or window in the house.
Accompanying a loved one with dementia to the bathroom becomes necessary at some point for a variety of reasons. Flushing trash, or a whole roll of tp, is a couple of reasons out of 100. Now is likely the time to accompany YOUR loved one to the bathroom to avoid catastrophes.
What trash is in a bathroom that is being flushed? I would take everything but the toilet paper out of the bathroom. Or is he bringing trash from other areas of the house, if so, then getting a toilet cover may be a good idea but then, will he know its a toilet.
Oh, thank goodness. Back to reality and a question not dealing with emotions. Sorry to say there may BE no answer. I hope so. Reminders, a note hanging over the toilet? It's what I always say about us moving from being loving daughter to caregiver, meaning the one who has to worry regarding the plumbing.
I always end these (quite commonly asked questions) with the story of my Aunt Helen's friend Hulda and the false teeth she regularly flushed down the john. But I will spare you. And wish you very good luck!
Sometimes with dementia it can become difficult to distinguish items in the bathroom because everything is the same color (usually white).
See if you can find a toilet seat cover, the types our Moms use to use back in the 1940's-1960's. Or changing the toilet seat/lid to a different color to see if that will help (I've seen different colors at Home Depot). Plus, always make a habit of keeping the lid down.
Dad has done it all...from eating dozens of oranges and flushing the peels (he had to pull the toilet and auger it), Dad has taken apart the furnace with a screwdriver (he woke up on a Sunday to find parts spread across the kitchen floor), broken his car ignition (trying to start it with the wrong keys), you name it.
He has since bought 4 fire extinguishers and various locks for every door, cabinet or window in the house.
Good luck to you.
Sorry to say there may BE no answer.
I hope so. Reminders, a note hanging over the toilet? It's what I always say about us moving from being loving daughter to caregiver, meaning the one who has to worry regarding the plumbing.
I always end these (quite commonly asked questions) with the story of my Aunt Helen's friend Hulda and the false teeth she regularly flushed down the john. But I will spare you.
And wish you very good luck!
See if you can find a toilet seat cover, the types our Moms use to use back in the 1940's-1960's. Or changing the toilet seat/lid to a different color to see if that will help (I've seen different colors at Home Depot). Plus, always make a habit of keeping the lid down.