Are you hands-on in taking care of your elderly loved one? Scenarios like that are largely due to the fact that many of our senior family members prefer to stay and age in their very own homes. In a survey conducted by the AARP organization (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons), about 3 out of 4 senior persons express intent to just age in their own houses or communities.
With the kind of comfort that your own place has provided you over the years, you would hesitate to relocate yourself, right?
However, the needs of an aging person could not be discounted whether they are at home or in a facility. It is for this reason that home care service providers have become a bridge to the dire needs of providing care while being at home at the same time.
You may have been taking care of your aging family member for a time now. Have you ever wondered if you should get some help already? Here are important indicators that getting extra assistance would be handy.
Increasing Medications
Your elderly loved one may already have a long list of medicines to take in a 24-hour cycle. You may be able to assist them when you’re awake, but how about when it’s time for you to get some rest? If they are on strict medication and need monitoring at times when you’re not available, tap some assistance right away.
Mobility Delays
Has your loved one been taking their time to move from their room to the kitchen? Declining strength can surely affect a person’s mobility. When you’re not around, you would want to protect your family member from risky incidents such as tripping or falling. Tapping some help is a definite solution.
Vision Challenges
Seeing things less clearly is common for seniors and this could result in safety risks. Having someone to accompany your family member especially in your absence ensures that they have extra “eyes” so they could support themselves.
Episodes of Forgetfulness
Has your aging family member manifested unusual forgetfulness in many instances? Situations such as misplacing the car keys inside the fridge should be taken into account. These events could be a sign of a more serious condition that poses an even more serious risk. Let someone accompany your loved one all the time when unusual forgetfulness episodes occur.
Scheduled Checkups
Your aging loved one may also need to meet with their physicians. Whether this is done personally or virtually, having some assistance would ensure that the senior person has received the instructions and prescriptions correctly.
How should you go from here?
There surely are a lot of items to consider when we are taking care of our senior family members. However, foremost of these considerations should always be their health and overall safety. The good thing about being hands-on in caring for our loved ones is we know exactly how to attend to them in the way they want to. Yet, when situations call for extra help, you will see that it’s a wiser decision to make this choice, too.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5749707/