Recently my mother has started spitting. Thankfully, she does not do it in public, at least not that I know of. When I'm with her, she will spit in the sink, toilet (especially before I get her into the shower). I'm thinking this is just part of the progression, right? It's very disturbing and unpleasant to watch. My mom lives in AL. Should I be concerned and seek a medical evaluation? Many thanks.
Take your mother to an ENT and make sure she doesn’t have sinus or throat problems that’s causing drainage issues. When you see her firing up to launch a loogie, hand her a tissue.
Could still be part of the dementia! But it can never hurt to check.
I then had to remember to check her clothing for tissue before washing. What a mess there was a few times. One time, I found the missing hearing aids wrapped in a tissue stuffed up her sleeve. Aids could have been easily washed of thrown away.
It would not be the kind of hacking it back to clear one's throat of phlegm, or spitting into a sink or toilet.
Instead, it could be like spitting in someone's face, or into the air, or on the ground in an expression of a dispute, objection, disdain, or disagreement.
I doubt there is much you can do about it. You might try giving her a handkerchief and see if she will "spit" into that.
But like all "quirks" of Alzheimer's or Dementia in general...this too shall pass and it will be another thing that will be unpleasant, irritating, frustrating, provoking or any other descriptive you may think of. But they will also change as she changes.
With her it never stopped but did become less frequent. Nothing worked.