Clear cup vs opaque cup for drinking

dancsfo · March 15

It depends on the PWD but I read of two conflicting views online:

PWD forgets there's something to drink in an opaque mug, so putting it into a clear cup makes PWD realize there's something to drink. Otherwise, PWD just forgets or just stares at it.
Clear cups may "disappear" or is hard to see for PWD, as do clear contents (water). Thus it is better to use a colorful or opaque cup, and even add some coloring to the water so it's visible.

Using a straw, big handles, etc. are also helpful. I think the key thing is that the PWD needs to realize or remember to drink, and when they do, make it easy to do (avoid failures). It's also an issue of proper hydration.

Lately, I've noticed that drinks (in a mug) are not consumed but prompting to drink it helps. Some hot tea that I made may go cold, but PWD seems to want another warm cup. So I pour out the cold one, make a new cup. I think this is a case of "if it's visible, it exists" and "if it's not readily visible, it's out of the PWD's mind". Who knows — maybe a clear but tinted cup is a compromise.

Any experiences to share?

UK's Alzheimer's society has an article

MN Chickadee · March 17

Didn't matter what color cup or style we tried - it was just hard to get mom to drink enough in the later stages of Alz. The only thing that helped was prompting and offering, sometimes holding it for her but even then it was a struggle and she was chronically dehydrated and had UTIs. It may also depend on the person - someone who was into hot coffee or tea in the pre-dementia state will probably have different preferences for temp and style of cup than someone who loved a tall icy soda. Worth playing around with to find the best fit for your PWD.

dancsfo · March 18

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/268241#Comment_268241

Thanks. I think experimenting helps. I understand that a PWD may have liked one food or drink but can change preferences suddenly. For example, I hear complaints of "this drink is too hot", or "this cheese is too salty", even though they were favorites in the past. So I can't rely on any preferences being stable over time. Thanks for reminding me of dangers of UTI — I was focused solely on dehydration, but now realize it can increase UTI risk. I also suspect PWD is concerned of trying to reduce the number of times to go urinate or waking up to do that, especially since liquids offered in evening are rejected with that complaint. But it seems to have gone overboard, and not drinking even in daytime.

Clear cup vs opaque cup for drinking

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