相信大家都知道失智症「老人痴呆症」患者会逐渐忘记身边人事物，然后慢慢的生活也无法自理，总忘记吃饭、喝水、去厕所、服药，照顾者得有相当大的耐心。

根据Ettoday报导，由于脑部退化，患者对于口渴的感觉较为迟钝，对失智老人而言「脱水」是件常见又危险的事情，小则影响身体机能，大则导致昏迷丧命；但是，若强迫患者喝水恐会引起呕吐，或是呛成肺炎，一次补充的水分不能太多。

对于失智症患者的问题，英国男子Hornby也因为本身的奶奶是一名失智症患者的缘由，想出了一个方法，通过发明可爱的含水果冻（Jelly Drops），以可爱的外形吸引失智症患者的注意，进而对它爱不释手，把它当零嘴来吃加以补充水分。

 

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Dehydration is a big issue for people with dementia. There are a number of reasons for this: forgetting to drink or forgetting where to find water, no longer liking the taste or feel of water in the mouth, forgetting how to swallow or even that water is essential for life. Some dementia patients suffer from a swallowing difficulty that means they have a hard time swallowing thin liquids and require thickening agents to help them get the hydration they need. A young man named Lewis Hornby noticed that his grandmother, who has dementia, was not getting enough to drink and decided to invent something that would make it easier for her to get the fluids she needed. What did he come up with?! Jelly Drops! They are brightly colored bite-sized balls of liquid that are easier to swallow than water but just as hydrating. The drops are made of 90 percent water with gelling agents and electrolytes to aid in hydration. Brilliant right!? We love this invention! You can find our more about it on the James Dyson Award website. Way to go, Lewis! #riseiq #jellydrops @jamesdysonfoundation

A post shared by RISE IQ: Dementia Care Advice (@riseiq) on Aug 24, 2018 at 12:58am PDT

据了解，Hornby的奶奶是一名失智症老人，和许多患者相同，都曾因脱水送医治疗。 Hornby在医院待了一段时间，仔细观察各组人员的互动、和不同家属交谈，他在和医生的讨论下有了含水果冻的构想。

五颜六色的含水果冻是水滴状，能吸引患者目光、方便拿取，和小朋友爱吃漂亮糖果的道理相同，可爱的含水果冻让长辈乐于接受；成分方面，果冻里头有超过九成是水，固体的形式让服用者的身体可以慢慢分解，肾脏不会一次接收到太大的负担。

报道中指出，Hornby的奶奶在第一次拿到盒装含水果冻的时候，便在短短的十分钟之内吃了七颗，含水量相当于一杯满满的水，是过去奶奶好几个小时才会补充到的水量！

一整盒含水果冻共有长辈半天所需要摄取的水量，这大大帮助了失智症患者避免脱水。

对于Hornby和团队的努力，我们看到这非常有爱及人性化的做法，让大部分患者都接受了。如今，脱水果冻已经试验成功，但仍处开发阶段，社会大众不能直接购买它，而Hornby和团队正继续努力，希望帮助到更多的失智症患者，让更多的长辈可以避免脱水情况。

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