Wandering: Definitions, risks and help

There has historically been an issue with what word to use when it comes to people heading off, or drifting as it’s sometimes called. The issue is that the person with dementia is often aware of where they want to go, they have a purpose behind it. We often don’t know what the purpose is, so we often refer to it as wandering. It could be they have set off to go to work at the school they retired from 20 years ago, or off to see a friend who died many years ago, whatever the reason, there are things that can be done to help. 

Why might they be wandering?

One of the first things you should do, is try and work out what the purpose is for the wandering. Where are they going to? What for? Is there a pattern in relation to the time they leave the house? If so, can you take the person for a walk at that time. 

In urban areas, with busy roads, more noise, the thought of a loved one going off can be frightening and will often lead people to lock their patients in the house. This is not likely to solve the problem, the person may just try harder to leave the house or become agitated and aggressive if they can’t get out of their own home. Being able to anticipate the problem is a big help.

What might help to avoid wandering?

Exercise  again, like with most of the problems associated with dementia, exercise will help. A person who is more tired, is less likely to wander off for miles. If the time they want to wander reasonable, then get them in some proper outdoor clothes and take them for a walk. 

Being busy helps - as with hallucinations, wandering is more likely to happen when there is not a lot going on and boredom has set in. You will need to make sure that the patients days are occupied with activities/chores/pastimes etc etc. To read more about exercise and dementia, read our article here although any exercise routine must be cleared with a medical professional first.

Assistive technology

There are lot’s of location devices that can be used that are no bigger, sometimes smaller than a watch. This means you can keep an eye on them even if they are in the house or have gone out. The use of these location devices has caused controversy with people feeling that this diminishes a person’s human rights and could be regarded as ‘tagging’. We have an article about assistive technology here and a number of products that may help. 

We take the view that a person being locked in their own home because their carer/relatives are frightened they will leave the house and get run over by a truck, or leave the house in the middle of winter, get lost and get hypothermia, is a far worse scenario than someone wearing a device that lets you know where your loved one is. The device will offer the patient more freedom as those looking after him/her, will feel more confident of giving the patient more freedom. 

We have a Looking After GPS Tracker, which can help put your mind at ease. Find out more about the product and how it can help in looking after your loved one whilst maintaining their independence.

List where they may have wandered before

List the places they have been - keep a record of where they have ended up, or where they said they were heading. Men and women ‘wander’ differently. Men will go off the beaten track more often, whereas women will often stick to usual, well walked routes, like going to the shops.

This type of information will be vital if you have to get the police and authorities involved. Another helpful tool when dealing with the emergency services, is to have a very recent photo of the patient to hand. (Easy to do nowadays with mobile phones), as well as keeping tabs of what the person has been wearing recently. This all helps the services locate your patient/loved one quickly and safely. 

Try and keep calm

Remember, almost always, the person will be found. Don’t be tempted to take drastic action and turn the house into Strangeways. Also, don’t be too hard on yourself if it happens, it’s a common occurrence with dementia patients and understanding why it happens will help you to cope with the challenge better. 

You can read our other article about dementia care and wandering here