Alzheimer's Disease Health Center

Pain a Problem in Alzheimer's Disease

How to Recognize Alzheimer's Pain continued...

But people caring for someone with Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease or other dementias can do an even better job than doctors can.

"Caregivers have an incredible capacity -- even beyond doctors -- to know the behavior of the person they are caring for and to look for the times they are in discomfort or pain," Edwards says.

The trick is to watch the facial expressions and movements of patients when they are not in pain, both during sleep and waking hours.

"Then, using that as a baseline, be attentive to circumstances where they seem agitated, where eye contact is altered, where there is grimacing or a facial expression indicative of discomfort," he advises.

Once a caregiver notices pain, Edwards recommends seeing a gerontologist to help find a pain treatment regimen. Or, as he prefers to call it, a "comfort regimen."

"Pain is subjective," Edwards says. "But when we suspect it, we can treat it. The goal is to seek the patient's comfort rather than the total elimination of pain."