I Googled these:

Nervous Nose Picking
Dementia nose picking
Dementia picking behavior

Might be a clue in there someplace. I didn't read much but seems to be a known pattern w/o much hope. Do you spose lubing the inside of her nose with something like neosporum or some such would help?

Thank you mxyplx - I'll check those out. I haven't thought about using a cream or lube but I will give that a try. I'm really hoping this is just a phase and she will eventually stop doing it but I'm not sure.

Do her dentures fit correctly? It's my understanding that the fit of dentures can change as the elderly age, ei: losing the fat layer under the skin. If they don't fit correctly they would not only be uncomfortable, but also cause extra saliva to be produced.

I do think her dentures fit well but it certainly wouldn't hurt to get that checked out. Thank you for the idea westelle.

When my nose gets dry I find it very annoying. My nose has a tendency to bleed if it gets to dry so I use vaseline every day. I can see why it would make her pick her nose. I would use a q tip and put Vaseline in her nose daily. Some of that behavior you just can't stop. You might try putting her dentures away if she doesn't keep them in her mouth. My husband did that and I think it was boredom.

You might try finding interesting things to put in her hands, just try anything like the soft balls with spines that look like a porcupine. They feel so strange in your hand.

This post was edited by EmmaR on Wed, Feb 4, 15 at 9:42

Thank you EmmaR - I am going to try the vaseline tonight. With our recent cold weather we have had to use the heat more lately which could have dried out her nasal passages. Mother keeps her dentures in all the time even when she sleeps, but I do have an appt on Tuesday to see if there is a problem with them. I have tried to find something to occupy her hands but everything I have found so far she just loses interest and puts it down.

Read this before trying the vasoline. As stated, different people react differently, or don't react at all. But it's good information from a reputable source.

Here is a link that might be useful: vasoline for dry nose

How often are her nose hairs trimmed?
May require a good small flashlight to find out for sure what is going on in there.
The elderly may slow down in other ways but they are often champs when it comes to ear and nose hair growth rates.

When my husband was diagnosed with AZ he needed his implant denture repaired. The dentist said we need to get it done right away because you cannot work on teeth with an AZ patient. Even as early as we had it done, my husband was a problem for them.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I did check out her nasal passages as best I could and used a very small amount of vasoline. However, I have realized that her picking and wiping increases dramatically when she cannot pace through the house; i.e., at church, in the car, etc... I do not think there is a problem with her nose I think it is a nervous habit. When she is able to pace about she does not do it as much. She has a dentist appt tomorrow and I hope to find out if there is a problem with her denture. If not this might just be something we'll have to learn to ignore.

Here's one site might give you some ideas; deals mostly with head scratching. Just letting it go might backfire. There are suggestions for limiting the behavior and damage. You've tried a couple and only scratched the surace. That was not intended. :-) Is that what you call a fox foot?

Try Googling the phrases in my previous post especially >Dementia nose picking<. The picking can get unbelievably gross with much physical damage. Causes great consternation for caregivers as you don't at this point have to imagine. Not just the nose. All over.

Well I sure ain't a doc but I can read and so can you. Get back to us with your progress - we're all intersted. Next time it might be us.

Gross

Man I knew started picking at his nose, spilling food , like a toddler, 2 weeks later he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I'm not saying that your mom has 1 at all, it is something people do when brain is no longer working properly so doubt you can stop it. Things like suddenly twisting hair, messing with an ear, rocking back & for, happen to lot of people that have some mental loss. That's better than outbursts or some other things that happen. The brain cells are dying so don't think you can get them to stop it. Just be glad that that is all that is going on & you can still take your mom out! Enjoy your time together!

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions. Here is an update as many things have occurred since my last posting:

I took Mother to the dentist to check on her dentures. They fit properly and he didn't suggest any correction action. He actually said they were a great fit. The nose picking is much better - not completely gone, but she isn't doing it as repeatedly as she was before and I think I know why......Mother has a UTI.

I received a frantic call on Thursday that my Mother was dizzy and lethargic. When I arrived at daycare she was listless and could barely stand. We called 911 and she was transported to ER. Diagnosis UTI. On Friday Mother was acting strangely and began exhibiting very agressive and hostile behavior. She began shaking her fists in the air, punching the sofa cushions and making faces at me. She was also pacing like crazy. I did everything possible to appease her and nothing worked. She wouldn't eat. I called her PCP and they said, "We can see you on Tuesday." Thanks guys - that's a lot of help. Somehow we made it through the day and on Saturday she was some better. Then Sunday she was much improved after 4 days of antibiotics. Clearly Mother had delirum from the UTI. I can honestly say I have never experienced anything like that. I am happy that she is better but scared to death that she can go through that again. We are going to the appt tomorrow to see what her PCP suggests.

Only time will tell if her nose picking was agitation from the excalating UTI. At this point I am just happy she is doing better and I am going to take sunnyca_gw's advice and enjoy our time together!

Now knowing about the UTI might explain a lot. People with any kind of dementia from any cause can have a difficult time figuring out "what's wrong", why they are in pain. All of your descriptions might be from her frustration at not feeling well or in pain and not being able to identify why. A small child might have the same problem, and in many ways she is reverting to being a child > toddler > baby.

You might see if there are any walk in clinics nearby. Learn their location and keep em in mind for just in case. I've used em a couple times. Some have websites and you can make an appt as well as fill out forms in advance.

Now that you've had a UTI experience with her, you and her care givers need to remain alert to changes in the future. They may notice changes in urine or not, but changes in eating or behavior may be the clues when the person cannot communicate what they are feeling. Those who are not familiar or not alert may just blame dementia and decline, but any unexplained and especially fairly rapid changes merit a check after she's had a UTI. She will probably have more and it's a simple test to check. Left untreated UTI's can cause all kinds of problems - even lead to fatal complications. My mom had a severe UTI discovered at the ER after she fell and broke her hip. It was all downhill from there and might have been avoided if the care takers had checked her. They'd had a lot of staff turnover (never a good sign).

If the nose picking returns and no UTIs, consider giving her something to do with her hands -- a stress ball, small stuffed toy or a purse/box with something to put in and take out. If she needs to be doing something when she can't be walking, perhaps you can provide an alternative and redirect the energy in a way that suits the situation better.

Oh, hoovergal...what a situation! I'm glad that you discovered what the cause was- it will be a good "heads up" for you in the future.

Hi lethiapage - welcome to the forum we are glad to have you here. Thank you for your wise words and you are absolutely right - keeping it simple is key. The nose-picking behavior has mostly stopped, but now my Mom has started digging in her back side :( (I'll take the nose-picking again please.) It took me some time but I finally got to a place of peace and realization that I cannot change these circumstances. I have tried to take my emotions out of the equation and find a solution to the issue at hand. Ta Da - that's when I found the one-piece jumpers that zip in the back! They have been wonderful and even though Mom still tries to dig, the jumpsuits and pajamas prevent her. How simple is that?

I know there are more challenges to come and I will try to face them head on but with grace and understand. :)

Gracious. I won't say "at least she isn't..." because maybe it will happen!!! Good thinking with the wardrobe change. Sometimes its just a simple change that does the most good! Also...make sure the hygiene is in place and that she isn't itching or digging for a reason that can be helped. Use gentle cleansers, rinse well, make sure any pads or briefs she is wearing aren't binding and that they don't have any sort of fragrance or other irritants.

It's hard watching them decline. I have seen it hundreds of times at this point, and even though it's not my family (I'm a housekeeper) I fall in love with most of my people.

I hope all of you have access to support services. Many are free. You can attend support groups and informational seminars. Go to fun-runs and other fundraising things to meet people in similar situations. And make sure you have respite care in place. In the US I think Medicare and other insurance helps cover this. Even if you have to budget for it...a couple hours paying a granny nanny is time you can pay attention to yourself.

Speaking of undergarments binding, my mom had to wear protection last few months as she might not make it to the bathroom. The diapers were very irritating & she got red skin right away. The guards with the elastic strips that buttoned worked much better but then towards end she was stuffing the edges between her legs with tissues as it was rubbing her skin raw. They really need to work on this type of protection more. Also the plastic plus heat of summer was not good. I was just thinking of adding a layer of soft flannel somehow. Mom's last infection was a blood infection. Last week at home she would get really happy, then not talk, then she started spilling things(mom was a neat person) & leaving the mess. Tried to get her to go to ER she had been to dr. & had blood tests mon. problems started tues. morning. By fri. bro & wife came & helped her get to bathroom.(refused to get up) She acted fine & refused to go to ER. Sat. morning her head was going backward& almost off the recliner. Paramedics had a time talking her into going to ER. Massive blood infection, how could that be? well, not hard to figure out, they dropped the ball at Dr. office. She got better but then just gave up & wanted to go & did few days later. Only telling this as I had looked in my nursing books (I had quit after 2 yrs) it is hard to find unless you know what it is. Somehow I had missed it. So with blood infection you aren't necessarily going down hill more & more. Patient may seem normal for hours at a time. She had just started having dementia couple months before & I thought it was that. Hope this helps somebody!

There are things elderly parents do, and you either learn to ignore them as they won't go away, look the other way if it grosses you out, maybe keep her hands busy with things so when you are around she doesn't do it. My dad's nose always dripped constantly, good ole' hay fever,etc. and he would wipe with hand and I got so I would keep small pkgs. of kleenexes in his glove compartment and put out one in this other area and grab and tell him to wipe with it. It drove me crazy too but nothing can do about it.