Even with the onset of dementia, there are still facets of your relationship that you can nurture. The Power of Touch All individuals, regardless of age or abilities, have the need for touch and love and the desire for companionship. Touch is a human need and personalizes caregiving. People respond to touch depending upon their upbringing and self-image. A touch can convey compassion, not just sexual interest.
Most religions have traditions of the healing and curative powers of touch.
These traditions can be interpreted as myth or fact. Yet even modern science recognizes the importance of human interaction and physical contact. Touching or massage can promote physiological responses such as decreased nervous tension, decreased muscle contractions, increased circulation, and decreased heart rate and blood pressure. As David s disease progressed he suffered from terribly disfiguring Kaposi s sarcoma. People avoided him on the street and averted their eyes.