I take care of my dad who has dementia that causes anger. He has stage 3 kidney disease and should be drinking at least 6 glasses of water per day. He refuses water, and basically any fluids. This is a constant battle. I have had to call the paramedics out at least 3 times this month because he gets dehydrated. Flavored water does not help. He will not drink tea or soda. Please help.
You brought up a very good point about someone who has kidney disease shouldn't have certain foods like the ones you mentioned. Since I don't know much about kidney disease, I myself wouldn't have thought of that but, now I remember when my mom was hospitalized in April for severe dehydration and COVID, when they ran bloodwork they said her kidney function was at a stage 3. Thanks for the reminder and more ideas!
Sometimes with dementia thinner liquids are a problem and Aspiration is a real possibility. Maybe he choked once or twice and is now fearful.
Try thickening the liquids.
Be careful with slippery things like peaches, nectarines, grapes, plums, Jello.
Popsicle's are also "liquid" so they can cause choking as well.
Soup is a good way to get liquids into someone as are things like Oatmeal, grits, cream of wheat.
How bad is his dementia? Meaning, does he understand about becoming dehydrated and that's why emergency responders have to come? Does he understand that he could end up in hospital or a NH where fluids would be administered? If he really doesn't understand outcome of not drinking, conversations will just wear you down. The alternatives, like watery foods, may be the only thing you could do.
The smoothie with almond milk sounds really good! Since I don't enjoy drinking water either and we live in a very hot climate, I love lime in my water and also, orange slices in water is really good. The first time I had that was when we went to "Outback Steakhouse" (before COVID) they had kept a water cooler of it in the waiting area.
Another drink I give my mom is V8's Energy+ Drink which has one serving of fruits and vegetables in it. They have a lot of different flavors she and I both like the Peach/Mango the best, then Orange/Pineapple, Honeycrisp Apple and a few others. The only drawback is it does have some caffeine in it. I actually add cold water to mine at home to take some of the sweetness out and make it more refreshing.
Like you and several others have said watermelon is a great source of water.
Since he isn't drinking water or fluids for that matter - has he been checked for a UTI. That could play a role in his behavior. People can react differently when they have one. My father-in-law had hallucinations and my mother gets very confused more so than normally with having Alzheimer's.
For some reason, elderly people seem to struggle with keeping hydrated.
Is it possible your dad can't take in fluids and does he need to be under hospice care if that's the case?
Don't know what else you can do since flavored water doesn't help (which is what I give my mom), won't drink tea or soda. I personally don't give my mom anything that is carbonated. There also comes a point where they can't get hydrated on their own and they need IV fluids at a hospital.
Watermelon, Jello with seedless berries, fruit ices and sherbets, vegetable soups made without added salt and Mrs. Dash as a seasoning, mango, cucumbers, stewed zucchini, fruit flavored teas. There are some new non-alcoholic beers that might work.
There are a lot more of these.
If he’s the slightest bit cantankerous he may be refusing just to annoy you. Don’t get mad, - GET SNEAKY.