When Lewis Hornby's grandma was rushed to hospital with severe dehydration, he knew he had to do something to make sure it didn't happen again.
The 26-year-old was shocked to find out how not drinking water can impact older people - specifically those with dementia like his Grandma Pat was.
Sadly Grandma Pat passed away earlier this year, but she managed to play a pivotal role as Chief Research Partner in Lewis' quest to bring about change.
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So much so that he actually ended up moving in to Grandma Pat's care home which enabled him to work with the doctors, dieticians and speech and language therapists to come up with the product of bite-sized, tasty water jellies, which are easy to pick up and consume in a variety of flavours.
Now he has launched the product, called Jelly Drops, and it could help 850,000 people living with dementia as well as the elderly in general.
Speaking to LADbible, Lewis said: "In 2018, my late Grandma Pat, who had dementia, was admitted to hospital with severe dehydration. Thankfully after 24 hours on IV fluids she made a full recovery, but I was shocked that something as simple as not drinking enough could have such a big effect on her health.
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"Looking into the problem further I realised this situation wasn't uncommon, unfortunately for the 50 million people living with dementia, dehydration is a huge problem.
"I wanted to help so I started by speaking with dementia psychologists. I learnt that many with dementia don't feel thirst, don't realise drinking would quench their thirst, don't recognise cups or don't have the dexterity to use them.
"To understand the problem better I lived in my Grandma's care home in Harrogate for a month. The confusion around drinking was obvious, with some residents sometimes putting food in their drink or pouring the drinks away.
"It was difficult to get people with dementia to engage with their food... that was however unless I offered them a sweet."
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This was where Lewis' inspiration came from. He noticed that when he walked around the care home, residents would ignore him - unless he had a tray of goodies.
Jelly Drops are sweets made of 95 percent water with added electrolytes. Lewis made them bright and colourful to attract attention while the firm texture and teardrop shape make them easy to pick up, allowing the elderly and those with dementia to boost their water intake independently and with dignity.
Lewis went on: "The vegan sweets come in six fruity flavours and are sold in trays of 24 - equivalent to 300ml of water. When first offered, Grandma ate seven Drops in 10 minutes! Getting her to drink the same amount of water would have taken hours normally."
You can order Jelly Drops or find out more about them here.
Featured Image Credit: Jelly DropsTopics: Daily Ladness, Community