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"Rehydration Reminder" for sufferers of memory loss

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charlielindsay1
charlielindsay1

Please take a few minutes of your time to read about my idea, and give your opinion of it.

Introduction:

I am a student, who is designing and will be making a plastic cup for dementia sufferers, to help reduce the number who suffer from dehydration. Most people place their cup down after having a drink and this cup will detect when it has been on a surface for 15 minutes and alert the sufferer or their carer that they have not been drinking or their cup needs to refilled.

Why did I choose to focus on dementia and memory loss?

I feel that this completely new product is necessary for the market, as my grandfather, who lives in an annex next door to my house, has been suffering from dementia for a few years now. I find that he constantly forgets to drink, which can lead to him becoming distressed and his usually very nice personality turning into a more unpleasant one.

Why Dehydration?

Dehydration does not just affect people with memory loss, but elderly people have also been found to suffer a lot more from the problem than the young. Elderly people are a lot less aware of thirst, and also need to drink more water, as their kidneys are not as good at concentrating urine in less water, so they lose more water in their urine and need to replace more. As over 780,000 out of the 850,000 dementia sufferers in the UK are aged over 65, most dementia sufferers have their memory loss partnered with their lower awareness of thirst and kidney function, leading to possibly even greater dehydration.

Is Dehydration that serious anyway?

Some might say that dehydration is not a huge issue amongst the many other problems that people with memory loss suffer from. However, some of the many risks to the sufferer's health that can occur if a person does not drink enough include some life threatening ones:

Mild Dehydration:

- Dryness of mouth; dry tongue with thick saliva

- Unable to urinate or pass only small amounts of urine

- Cramping limbs

- Crying but with few or no tears

- Weakness, general feeling of being unwell

- Sleepiness or irritability

More Serious Dehydration:

- Low blood pressure

- Bladder Cancer (men only)

- Coronary Heart Disease

- Bloated stomach

- Rapid but weak pulse

- Breathing faster than normal

- Severe cramping and muscle contractions in limbs, back and stomach

Ergonomics:

Look up on the internet "Nosey Cup" and "Sure Grip Cup".

I was also thinking about adding one or both of the above ergonomic ideas to the plastic cup, as this will make it easier for the elderly to firstly pick up the cup and secondly drink from it.

Questions:

- Would you buy a product like this?

- What do you think of the ergonomic ideas? Would it be hard for the user to remember to put their nose in the hole of nosey cup? Should I try to make the cup stackable?

- Would it be better as a mug for tea or coffee, or a plastic cup/glass for water?

- What sort of price should I aim to get it down to?

- Is there competition/Have you heard about similar existing products?

- How many ml would be suitable for the cup (as a survey)? 250ml? 500ml? 750ml? 1000ml?

- What maximum weight would be suitable (as of course I want to make it as light as possible, but also not too expensive)? 150g? 200g? 250g?

- What do you like in a cup/glass?

- I was also thinking about making a coaster, but thought a cup would be better, as the sufferer would not have to remember to put their normal cup/glass/mug on a coaster. Do you think their memory loss would be a problem with a coaster?

   - I was thinking about calling it "Rehydration Reminder". Does anyone have any better ideas on a name? None will be criticised I promise! Thankyou so much for your help! It is greatly appreciated!

P.S. As the images of my design that I have tried to put on here have been blurry, if you want to see them or know how my prodcut will work, ask in the comments for my email.

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • stefania3
    stefania3 charlielindsay1

    Posted

    Hello Charlielindsay,  the idea is good and I know the importance of remaining hydrated.  However, I don't think it would work, though it would depend on the patient.  My mother has some memory loss and refuses point blank to drink more, as she then has to go to the toilet.  I cannot force her and the more I urged her to drink, the more she got annoyed, so I've left  it at that.  Perhaps others might not be as stubborn.
    • charlielindsay1
      charlielindsay1 stefania3

      Posted

      Thanks for taking the time to reply and your advice will be taken on board. The cup will be used to remind the carer that the sufferer has not drunk in a period of time, so that they can instruct them to drink, but I understand that if they are stubborn they might not want to drink. To help relieve this problem, there could be the option to change the amount of time before the red lights start to flash, so that the drinking needs of different sufferers can be catered for accordingly.
  • harryelgar
    harryelgar charlielindsay1

    Posted

    I like the idea of the "Rehydration Reminder" and would definitely consider buying it for around £20 if it were on the market, as there is nothing like it at the moment. My father has memory loss, and is always forgetting to drink enough water, so I then have to remind him to drink. He is happy to do so, so his dementia might not have affected him quite as badly as stefania3's mother's.

    I like the idea of making the cup stackable the most, as this would make it easier to store. I believe the nosey cup wouldn't be suitable for my dad, as he doesn't get neck pain, and it would only decrease the capacity of the cup. I think the idea of having a cup is better than having a coaster, as the user then does not have to remember to put their cup down. I don't think the cup should weight too much, so I'd say about 150g as a maximum. I think between 200ml and 500ml is the best capacity.

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