Man Creates Edible Water ‘Jelly Drops’ To Help Grandma With Dementia Stay Hydrated

People with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and those who care for them face many challenges. One of those challenges is staying hydrated.

While drinking water is a part of our daily routine, people with dementia usually forget to drink it. As a result, many people living with dementia become dehydrated. But one grandson is on a mission to turn that around.

A man, whose grandmother has dementia, may have come up with a wonderful solution to dehydration. London-based student Lewis Hornby created Jelly Drops to keep his grandmother hydrated.

There is no cure for dementia, but it is essential that patients do not become dehydrated. These Jelly Drops look like candies, which are also engaging for dementia patients.

Hornby writes:

“For people with dementia, the symptoms of dehydration are often mistakenly attributed to their underlying condition, meaning it can easily go unnoticed until it becomes life-threatening … About a year ago my grandma was unexpectedly rushed to hospital; she was found to be severely dehydrated. Thankfully, after 24 hours on IV fluids, she was back to her normal happy self, and is still enjoying a good quality of life to this day.”

Hornby wants nothing but the best for his grandma. Before finally coming up with the solution, Hornby used a number of different approaches to help him better understand the issue.

He even talked to a dementia psychologist, consulting with doctors and spending a week in a care home for people with dementia.

Horby shared that when he introduced Jelly Drops to his grandmother, she quickly grabbed them.

He said:

“When first offered, grandma ate 7 Jelly Drops in 10 minutes, the equivalent to a cup full of water, something that would usually take hours and require much more assistance.”

Jelly Drops is still in its trial phase, but Hornby already won two awards for his very helpful creation: the Helen Hamlyn Design Award – Snowdon Award for Disability and the Dyson School of Design Engineering DESIRE Award for Social Impact.