Home care is beneficial in the event your senior loved one’s wellbeing deteriorates due to aging or a serious health condition. An issue most family caregivers face is not knowing when their loved ones need at-home care. The type of assistance your loved one receives while aging in place will depend on his or her needs and capabilities and the flexibility of other family members. However, receiving personalized, high-quality care could boost your parent’s physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Here’s how to tell when it might be time to consider in-home care.
A Serious Health Diagnosis
If your loved one is living with multiple health conditions or has been diagnosed with a serious illness such as multiple sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease, your family may need to step in to assist with his or her daily activities. Receiving home care could slow down the progression of a disease or lower the odds of it triggering other conditions. Speak with your parent’s physician to learn more about the diagnosis so you can create a home care plan that eases your loved one’s daily life.
Poor Personal Hygiene
Bathing, toileting, and other personal hygiene tasks are essential for everyone, including older adults. Therefore, when your loved one faces difficulty with any of these tasks, it could be a sign he or she needs home care. However, it might be difficult for your loved one to accept help with showering and bathing, brushing teeth, and dressing.
Start slowly and encourage your loved one before stepping in, as long as his or her safety isn’t jeopardized. You can achieve this by customizing each personal hygiene task to make it less complicated. Applaud your parent’s achievements, even minor ones.
Families who need help caring for senior loved ones can turn to Assisting Hands Home Care, a leading provider of home care. Services available in our customizable care plans include meal prep, mental and social stimulation, assistance with personal hygiene tasks, and much more.
Drastic Mood Changes or Sudden Moments of Confusion
Avoid mislabeling your loved one’s reactions, but don’t ignore them. For example, your parent could be upset because of an issue he or she hasn’t shared with everyone. However, your family should monitor your loved one for a few days to see if the drastic mood changes are related to a health issue. Your parent could be living with depression, physical pain, medication side effects, loneliness, or even Alzheimer’s. In addition, experiencing sudden confusion could indicate the early stages of dementia or even a UTI. In these instances, home care could provide the daily assistance and companionship your loved one needs to boost his or her wellbeing.
If your loved one is living with Alzheimer’s, compassionate professional help is just a phone call away. Seniors with Alzheimer’s have much to gain when their families opt for professional Alzheimer’s care. Fort Lauderdale families can rely on compassionate and dedicated caregivers to help their elderly loved ones manage the various challenges of Alzheimer’s disease so they can enjoy a higher quality of life.
Poor Nutrition & Exercise Habits
Seniors need to eat healthy foods and work out as often as possible to maintain a proper weight and stave off issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and high cholesterol levels. The most notable signs that your loved one is eating unhealthy foods or not exercising regularly include sudden weight loss or excessive weight gain.
Hair loss, skin problems, fatigue, and depression are other warning signs you and your siblings should never ignore. In these instances, providing home care would allow your loved one to receive proper nutrition and assistance with exercise. Customizing these aspects of your loved one’s day could prevent illnesses from progressing, boost his or her memory, stave off obesity, and enhance his or her thinking and communication skills.
One of the most challenging tasks of helping an elderly relative age in place safely and comfortably is researching agencies that provide in-home care. Fort Lauderdale families can turn to Assisting Hands Home Care for reliable, high-quality in-home care for aging adults. We offer at-home care for seniors who require extensive assistance, and we also offer respite care for family caregivers who need a break from their caregiving duties. To create a customized care plan for your loved one, call us at +1 754-900-5102 today.
