My wife constantly chews on her fingers. Her former, well maintained, beautiful nails are completely gone. Do dementia patients normally take to these "toys", and stop the harmful habits? I've checked some of the offerings at the Alzheimer's Store and found most them fairly expensive, would hate to spend the money and find the toy to be not suitable.
He typically would chew on the neck of his t-shirt if he did not have anything else in his hand. If he had a blanket over his lap that would get pulled up and chewed on, if he was holding a napkin (I use cloth napkins) he would chew that.
I searched for different things for him to chew. I went the route of some dog toys. Soft ones, hard ones, I got baby teething toys soft ones, hard ones, smooth ones, bumpy ones. I finally found a few he liked and would make sure he had one of them in hand all the time.
If he did not have anything he would chew on his fingers.
So...trial and error find something that she likes to chew on.
It might also help if you place a washcloth in her hand. That might keep her from chewing on her fingers.
Chewelry is a product specially designed for humans who like to chew and are doing damage to their hands or other body parts BY chewing. I would never recommend a 'dog toy' to chew on for your wife b/c she's not a dog but a lovely woman who deserves something more appropriate than a 'dog toy'. This Chewelry is designed as a necklace and does not cost more than a dog toy. Check out the link here:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=chewelry+for+adults&crid=RQB5GPGUGEES&sprefix=chewel%2Caps%2C244&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_3_6
I posted a tip the other day about elders with dementia who pick at themselves, and a nail treatment/gel polish that tends to stop that behavior w/o the use of drugs which rarely work anyway. Check out my post here:
https://www.agingcare.com/discussions/skin-picking-with-dementiaalzheimers-how-to-stop-it-without-drugs-479144.htm
I don't know that this SNS nail treatment would work for your wife, but it's an easy and relatively inexpensive thing to try. Along with the Chewelry.
You often have to spend some money in an effort to find relief for your loved one.
Best of luck to you Fred.
I am going to mention this to a friend of mine who has a son on the spectrum.
He is always looking for something to chew on due to issues with Pica.
She generally buys apples. He goes through a lot of apples quickly!
Thanks for sharing!
I would definitely recommend the fidget apron.
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