The candies that can fight dementia were created by the British inventor who can save patients

A British inventor has come up with ‘rehydration candies’ – which can save the lives of dementia patients.

The candies, called Jelly Drops, are a sugar-free snack made from 95 percent water and electrolytes.

Lewis Hornby, 26, developed the product over two years after learning that forgetting or not being able to drink is a common problem for people with dementia.

A 2015 study found that 37 percent of the elderly admitted to hospital are acutely dehydrated.

Mr. Hornby, of Burscough, Lancashire, has received £ 100,000 in funding from the Alzheimer’s Society and will donate 1 percent of the profits to charity.

The soft vegan candies come in six fruit flavors and are sold in trays of 24 – equal to 300ml of water.

Mr. Hornby, who spent time in nursing homes studying the needs of dementia patients, said, “Many are not thirsty, do not recognize cups and do not have the ability to use cups.”

Mr Hornby was inspired to make the candies after his late grandmother, Pat, was taken to hospital in 2018.

The family were told to expect the worst, but the problem turned out to be dehydration and the retiree made a full recovery and enjoyed a good quality of life before her death from Covid-19 this year.

At the time, Mr. Hornby was a master’s student at Imperial College London and contacted dementia experts and even went to his grandmother’s nursing home for a month to investigate the problem of dehydration.

He said: “Many of the residents put food in their drink or poured the drinks away … By far the biggest problem I found was that they needed help with drinking and the caretakers just didn’t have the time to visit each resident. make sure they were properly hydrated. “

Mr Hornby said caregivers told him they did not like using hydration solutions, such as drinking cups and bibs, which are “over-medicalized” and have “childish connotations”.

“I just wanted Jelly Drops to be candies for everyone to enjoy – they just happen to be designed for people with dementia,” he said.

“It capitalizes on the ability of people with dementia to take care of themselves … to hydrate independently and with dignity.

“Also from a caregiver’s point of view … often, Jelly Drops can turn the most difficult task of the day into the highlight of the day.”

Jelly Drops are already being sold to a number of UK nursing homes, but the company has an international waiting list of 50,000 and plans to start exporting next year.

“We initially developed it with Grandma and it was a lot of development from that stage to a market-ready product,” said Mr Hornby.

So when we got feedback from other people who enjoyed it as much as they did, it was a huge relief.

“It’s really great to be able to work on something that you are really passionate about … I’m lucky to be accompanied by a great team too.”

Mr Hornby said the product has also been used by people with other cognitive impairments, Parkinson’s disease or those undergoing chemotherapy.

He said the company is also exploring different consistencies to help people who have swallowing difficulties, for whom the product is not currently recommended.